Rivers Run Red
by sabersoul13
Summary: A discovery at a young age leads Naruto to leave the village. Thirteen years later, he returns, only to discover that his actions have set off ripples throughout the elemental nations. How many deaths could have been avoided had he stayed, and more importantly, how much more blood must be spilled before he is allowed to know peace? (OOC Naruto, character death)
1. Not Yet Dead

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Tayuya wanted to be dead. She knew that she wasn't far from that fate either as she trudged through the forest. Her left arm hung limply at her side, the flesh torn apart and the bone mangled beyond any logical hope of reconstruction. Her breathing was laboured and there was the recurring taste of blood in her mouth, side effects of what she knew was a couple of broken ribs. As if none of that was bad enough, she had also pretty much exhausted her chakra reserves.

Turns out that the fat ass she had stayed back to fight wasn't as much of a pushover as she had expected. The chubby bastard had several tricks up his sleeve, one of which ended with her arm being crushed between a tree and the expanded canon ball form that he had taken. At the time, Tayuya had fully expected the kid to tear right through her, but he was as soft on the inside as he was physically. Still, her arm was completely fucked now, and she wasn't even sure if she was walking in the right direction.

"Stupid fucking cunts! Couldn't manage a simple fucking retrieval mission! And now look at us! None of those fuckers better survive, or so help me, I'll choke them with their own insides!" she yelled angrily, trying to distract herself from the blinding pain pulsating from her arm.

"Why the fuck does Orochimaru even care about the stupid emo fucktard?! Just take the fucking eyes! It's that simple! Cut the little mopey bitch out of the equation!" she continued. "But nooo! Can't do that! Can't harm the fucking merchandise can we?! Orochimaru needs another boy-toy after all!"

Tayuya's increasingly staggered walk wound up with her tripping over herself and hitting the ground hard. She winced and grit her teeth in an attempt to force back her urge to scream as tears forced their way out of her eyes. The strained howl that came out of her was enough to help her push through the pain and stumble back to her feet again. Her vision had only gotten fuzzier, but she was determined, and, to quote Kidōmaru, 'more stubborn than an ox with a hard on'.

She had to force herself not to chuckle at that, lest she risk doubling over in pain. In the back of her mind, she somewhat hoped that Kidōmaru had survived the mission. Despite being a complete and total tool, as well as a mild pervert, he was actually not too difficult to deal with. At least he retained a personality that wasn't completely focused on sucking Orochimaru's dick or going all necrophilia on everyone that he killed. Although it wouldn't be a complete loss if he had died. If Tayuya was assuming correctly, the mission was a failure, so they would all get fucked over anyway. Orochimaru had a thing about uselessness amongst his subordinates. Needless to say, the redhead was fairly certain she was walking to her death, or worse.

Still, that didn't do much to deter her from her path. It wasn't as if she had much else in regards to options. She was dying at a steady pace now anyway, so why not just go and get it over with. Sure, she could just pull out a kunai and end it herself, but Tayuya refused to be a weak willed sell out bitch as to end it like that. As far as she was concerned, only pussies committed suicide. Even the whole concept of seppuku was just a bitch move by a coward.

She tried to snort in amusement at her own thoughts, only for it to leave her in a coughing fit. Hacking up a few mouthfuls of blood, Tayuya once again collapsed to the ground. Spewing out a worrying amount of the thick crimson liquid, the girl let out what was supposed to be a growl. It came out a gurgled mess as she clawed angrily at the dirt, trying desperately to drag herself to her feet once more. In the end, she only managed to steady herself on her hand and knees.

"That fat cunt!" she spat venomously.

If she wasn't so absolutely sure that the 'fat cunt' in question was already dead, then Tayuya would be making it her life mission to hunt him down and force feed him his own lard filled ass until he drowned on it. Thankfully, the fucker had been soft, and now he was paying for that pathetic excuse of a shinobi's iron will with a kunai buried deep into his skull. If she hadn't gotten so badly injured, she would have enjoyed sticking around and having her summons bash his body into paste.

Tayuya sat back on her haunches as she took a few calming breaths. Her vision was only getting worse as she moved, and there was a distinct ringing in her ears. She didn't recall hitting her head during her fight, but she couldn't exactly remember what broke her ribs either. If she had to hazard a guess, she would say she had a concussion of some sort. Just another injury to add to the list at this point she supposed.

Forcing herself to stand for yet another time, Tayuya continued to walk. As she went, she tore off a strip of cloth from her shirt, tying it tightly around her arm as a makeshift tourniquet. She knew that it would leave her arm completely dead after around thirty minutes, but it was a better alternative to bleeding to death. She was somewhat confident that Orochimaru could fix something as simple as a dead and broken arm, if he bothered to spare her life that is. Despite knowing the Sannin's nature, Tayuya was strangely optimistic about it.

An unnaturally strong breeze swept through the trees, causing Tayuya to sway precariously in a desperate attempt to stay off the ground. The redhead had already fallen too many times and she was certain that she would not get up from another. Disastrously, the breeze was merely a forewarning for the storm yet to come. The wind picked up violently as a raging wind jutsu tore through the area, ripping trees from the ground and throwing everything into airborne chaos. Tayuya was tossed around like a ragdoll; barely managing to use what strength and focus she had left to twist herself around and out of direct danger.

She succeeded in keeping herself from getting crushed by the trees, for the most part, until the jutsu finally died down. But it wasn't over. Tayuya was dealt yet another significant blow as a blade of wind sliced deep into her side. Her would be gasp was cut off, a stray tree branch slamming into her and sending her plummeting to the ground. As it would have it though, it seemed that fate wasn't quite done with its apparent tormenting of the girl. Her arm, flailing around as it was, became wedged in a forked branch of a toppled tree. The sudden jerking stop was enough to snap her tendons and rip her shoulder from its socket, giving the girl a new and intensely intimate understanding of suffering and agony.

"FUUUUUUUUUCKK!" Tayuya screamed at the top of her lungs, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she clawed desperately at the tree branch, shredding her fingernails as she did so.

"Fuckin' fuck, shit!" she whimpered, her voice becoming brittle and shaken.

Tayuya's crying lead to another pain filled coughing fit that once again ended with her tasting blood. The world spun around her, making her dizzy and tired. Letting herself go limp, Tayuya hung her head and stared at the ground. She almost laughed at seeing that she was hanging barely a foot off the ground, and yet it felt so far away in this moment. She wasn't unaware of the blood pooling below her either, her hand reaching up to clutch weakly at the gash in her side. Surprisingly enough, she couldn't really feel it, or anything else for that matter. Her body had gone almost completely numb.

"Heh, so this is how I die?" she muttered to herself. "Strung up like some slaughtered pig. The guys would piss 'em selves laughing if they could see me now" she regurgitated some more blood. "How… how the fuck am I still alive?" she whimpered.

Logically speaking, she should have been dead by now. Tayuya wasn't exactly a large person, in fact, she was rather small for her age, and she knew she had lost more than enough blood to leave her dead. Perhaps it was just some sick joke. Life's way of making her suffer for the things she had done for Orochimaru. If that was the case, then it was definitely working. Tayuya had never felt so completely helpless in her life. Her body was broken, her mind was wavering between angry and distraught, and her life teetered on the edge of death.

There was literally nothing that could make things worse.

"Are you Tayuya of the north gate?"

The girl's eyes widened as she looked up. Her surprise only increased as her eyes finally managed to focus on the origin of the disembodied voice. It was a boy, barely a couple of years older than she was. He was just standing there, looking at her unsympathetically with his dark blue eyes. He didn't appear to be sporting any noticeable symbol of any hidden village, which struck her as odd. The rather expensive looking katana that was tied to his waist also didn't help in making him appear to be possibly friendly. She didn't exactly have connections to anyone who could afford something like an expensive sword save for Orochimaru.

"Am I hallucinating you?" Tayuya mumbled.

The boy seemed to become thoughtful at that question, scratching at his dark red hair. "If I say yes, will you answer my question?" he asked curiously.

Tayuya was too exhausted to really care at this point. She'd be dead quick enough, so it wouldn't hurt to humour the guy, even if she wasn't actually hallucinating him. "Who wants to know?"

Pinching his chin lightly, the boy looked at Tayuya strangely. "Well, if I'm just a hallucination of yours, then I suppose _you_ are the one that wants to know who you are" he said. "Perhaps, subconsciously, you aren't sure who you are inside. Maybe you should express yourself a little, get some dark secrets off your chest, like perhaps the location of your master," he continued with a hopeful expression, gesturing for her to 'spill the beans'.

Tayuya snarled and spat at him. "Go fuck yourself, you prick. I ain't telling you nothing!"

He shrugged. "Oh well. It was worth a shot," he said casually. "Not every day that I find the person I'm looking for half dead. I just wanted to see how strong peoples loyalty to Orochimaru were"-he glanced at her oddly-"Apparently strong enough to disregard the fact that you're dying"

"Person you're looking for?" Tayuya questioned angrily. "You've been fucking stalking me? You sick fuck!"

"I've been tracking your team as a whole" the boy replied calmly. "The other three, or rather four, have already been, hmm, how should I put this? ... dealt with. That left you as my prime target. But, as you may have picked up, I say that in past tense because you seem to be stubborn, and I not one for torturing cute girls for information I can get from someone else"

Tayuya growled. This guy had managed to break the record for how long it took someone to get on her shit list. It was one thing to call her cute, but it was an entirely different thing to disregard her for a different target because of her appearance. She would have been much happier had he used her near dead condition as an excuse to not bother with her.

"What the fuck does that mean? You think you're too good to hurt me? Think that just because I'm a girl I need to be treated like glass. Fuck you, you pussy, and your stupid sense of morality!" had she not been so angry and focused solely on the boy, Tayuya might have wondered where she was getting the energy to even argue with him, or at least gone back to wondering why she wasn't dead yet.

The boy just shook his head. "I wouldn't call it morality," he said, pointing to his ears. "I just hate high pitched squealing. Really hurts my ears and isn't worth the results to put up with it for long"

Tayuya's eyes lit up and she grinned viciously. Pulling what small amount of chakra remained in her system to her control, she moulded it up into her mouth. Pursing her lips into position, the redhead let out a sharp chakra imbued whistle. The boy was quick to recoil at the sound, jerking his head as if he had been punched. He stumbled and swayed clumsily as he tried to shake his head free of the sudden dizziness. Tayuya waited in anticipation for him to hit the ground like a sack of bricks, but it didn't happen. Almost as suddenly as it had occurred, the boys dizziness vanished, leaving him standing in front of the girl with a painful ringing in his ears, but even that was short lived.

"What the fuck! How are you still conscious?" Tayuya demanded. Her technique, despite having been used with such little chakra, should have been enough to blow his eardrums and leave him a discombobulated mess, if not knock him out completely.

The boy shook his head again and stared at her with intrigue. "That's a little surprising" He walked up to her, catching her free hand as she lashed out at him. "Seems you could be useful after all"

Tayuya was about to scream at him some more before she felt a blinding pain burn its way into her side, right where her gash was. While not in any way comprehensible, she did manage to scream, albeit in pain more than anger. Her attempts at thrashing around were halted as she felt her body being unnaturally disobedient to her will. It didn't last long, and soon the boy was stepping back from her panting and twitching form.

"That should keep you from bleeding out for a little while," he said, turning his attention to the tourniquet on her trapped arm. Grabbing it, he pulled it tighter.

"AAAAAAAHHH!" Tayuya screamed. "Fucking stop it!" she pleaded, once again crying. "Just fucking kill me, you bastard!"

Her eyes widened as he stepped back and drew his sword, the steel of the blade seemingly gleaming at her hungrily. Tayuya closed her eyes tightly as she prepared for what she assumed would be her death. However, instead of the expected pain of being slashed, or stabbed, she experienced a sudden sensation of weightlessness, followed very quickly by pain as she crumpled to the ground. She grit her teeth and tried to hold back her pained howl, only for it to come out a gurgled and spluttering mess as she cried into the ground.

Tayuya felt herself get turned over roughly. Opening her eyes, she stared fearfully into the dark blue eyes of the boy, not finding a hint of sympathy or warmth in them. His eyes shifted their focus, and her eyes followed, landing on her mangled arm. She could tell that he saw it as a lost cause, but his opinion didn't really matter to her. There was no doubt in her mind that Orochimaru could fix her. She just needed to survive this ordeal, in whatever way she could.

The boy frowned and shook his head in disappointment. "Your arm is beyond help. It'll get infected the way it is, and I can't afford for you to simply die before you tell me everything you know," he explained.

The kunoichi felt her stomach sink. The boy wasted no time in denying her a chance to argue or attempt anything rash, grabbing her unbroken right arm and using it to flip her back onto her stomach, twisting the limb up behind her back as he went. Tayuya yelped and screamed in protest, finally getting some sort of idea as to what he intended to do. His solution to this was to gag her with a torn off piece of her shirt.

Resting his knee on her right arm, he kept it pressed against her back and kept her from wriggling out of position as he went about positioning her mangled mess of a left arm. Happy with his preparations, the boy stood back up, replacing his knee on Tayuya's back with his foot. Picking his sword back up from the ground next to him, he lowered the blade to the girls arm and readied himself, raising the sword up above his head.

Tayuya screamed into her makeshift gag desperately, tears streaming down her face as she tried to thrash around, but to no avail. The boy simply put more weight down on her, causing her to whimper pitifully. She watched in morbid horror as he brought the sword down in a clean slash. At first she didn't feel it, but soon the burning pain set in, along with the realisation that her arm was now definitely gone, severed just above her elbow. Unfortunately, Tayuya's torment wasn't over as the boy knelt down again, leading to a familiar burning pain in what was left of her arm.

In the end, Tayuya's mind couldn't handle the stress anymore, and the redhead passed out from the pain.

* * *

Naruto stared down at the unconscious form of Tayuya. To be honest, even he was surprised that she was still alive, let alone only just now passing out. Then again, it shouldn't have really surprised him all that much. Orochimaru was not one to assign the weak to his personal guard. While not exactly what Naruto would call strong, the sound four were definitely not weak, Tayuya especially it seemed.

Rolling her back onto her back, Naruto inspected her wounds. The dodgy job he did of cauterising the gash on her side and the stump of her arm would hold up for a little while, but eventually she would die from internal wounds. She would need proper medical attention soon, and it would need to be of top quality too. Naruto knew where he was, and he also knew that Konoha was the closest village that met the requirements, but he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to go there just yet.

He looked back down at Tayuya and sighed, wiped his blood-covered hands on his black pants and collected his sword, sheathing it back at his waist. Making a few hand seals, he bit his thumb and placed his hand on the ground. With a puff of smoke, a small toad appeared in front of him.

"Go tell the Hokage that I'll be dropping in for a visit. Tell her that I'll need a medical team ready on arrival for a guest," he said.

The toad seemed to look up at him strangely. "You're going to Konoha?" it asked in shock.

Naruto nodded. "Make sure to tell Ma and Pa to keep Jiraiya out of the loop. I don't need him interfering with my business any more than absolutely necessary"

The toad nodded in understanding before dispelling. Naruto let out an exaggerated sigh. Picking up Tayuya's limp form, he positioned her on his back as best he could and went about his slow journey towards Konoha. He almost felt the need to shed a tear at the slow demise of his dark orange shirt as Tayuya's blood began drenching and staining it. Still, he wasn't going to leave her. She was now far too important to let die, or worse, return to Orochimaru's clutches.

"Never thought I'd find another Uzumaki, especially not like this," he mumbled to himself. "Should have figured that Orochimaru would have gotten his hands on at least one of them"

While not positive that she was an Uzumaki, Naruto wasn't going to let the chance slip by. Her red hair was one indication, but these days that wasn't a sure defining trait. Her chakra though, had been what really peaked Naruto's interest. It shared a couple of notable similarities with his own, similarities that he knew were more or less not present in the majority of the population of the elemental nations. He would get the Hokage to do a full blood test to verify for him, but until then, he would consider Tayuya to be an Uzumaki.

"Well, this is going to be one hell of an interesting coming home party" Naruto said.

Needless to say, Naruto was not looking forward to seeing Konoha again… at least not this soon.

* * *

 **A/N:**

So this has been a little idea floating around in my head for a while now and I thought I may as well see how it goes on here. Don't have much planned with it as of the moment, but anyone that follows my other stories on here should know that I rarely plan anything out, which means that chaos could potentially be around any corner in this story. That being said, I hope that this turns out to be an enjoyable story for all that take the time to read it.

I also wish to point out a few things to help those of you reading. For one, Naruto is older in this story, as is Tayuya. Naruto is around the eighteen-nineteen mark, while Tayuya is around the fifteen-sixteen mark. This is important, as it should indicate a different age and maturity gap between Naruto and the rest of the universes characters, who will all remain the same age as depicted in canon.

The title and summary for this story are not set in stone. I will gladly take any and all suggestions in regards to bettering these.

Please leave a review telling me what you think of this as a start. Even flames are welcome.

Next chapter should be uploaded very soon guys.

Till then.

Soul out!


	2. Home Sweet Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto didn't slow down as he walked through the main gates of the village. Going through the time consuming process of being processed would be, well… time consuming. He was in a little bit of a hurry, so it really just wasn't worth the fuss. That, and the longer it took people to recognise him, the better. Even if it was only a few minutes' worth of peace gained in doing so. The fact that the gate guards were already drawing their weapons only meant that said time of peace was drawing to a very quick close.

Coming to a sudden stop, the teen was quickly surrounded by seven ANBU, each with the edge of a blade pressed gently against all of his accessible vital points. Surrounding them were no less than thirteen ANBU, all readied and prepared for anything. Naruto was flattered. To think that such attention and forethought was put into something as simple as his presence. It was almost as if they truly feared him.

"Good reaction time, guys," he said. "…and girls" he added, noticing a few mask covered glares from the females of the group. "Although I must say, this is entirely unnecessary. I even sent a message ahead of me to avoid this exact situation"

"You will be silent," one of the ANBU said. "The Hokage will be the one to say what happens to you once she arrives"

Naruto nodded. "Fair enough. But it still would have been much better had you just let me go straight to her in the first place" he said, making a slow gesture to their surroundings. "This particular course of action has caught the attention of a crowd"

The surrounding ANBU were quick to take notice of the encroaching civilians, all eager to see what the fuss was all about. Many were quick to disperse of their own accord after seeing the bloodied and crippled form of Tayuya resting on Naruto's back. Those that stayed in spite of such a sight were quickly ordered to leave by the ANBU, not that they listened. As it were, the civilians didn't actually have to take orders from shinobi. It was more of a guideline; accepted and respected, but not actually enforced.

It took a few moments, time in which Naruto remained guarded by the unflappable group of overly serious ANBU, but eventually a new face made itself known to the group. A blond woman wearing a green haori jacket, a strange violet gem embedded into her forehead, and an annoyed but analytical expression. She seemed to observe Naruto scrutinisingly, as if not quite sold on him being who she thought he was, until eventually her eyes stopped on the unmistakable whisker like marking on the boy's cheeks.

Her expression softened as she looked up at the redhead. "You've gotten taller," she said, trying to ease the tension.

"And you've gotten older" Naruto replied without hesitation. "Might want to look into giving that Genjutsu a little update, Tsunade"

Tsunade didn't react. She didn't glare at him, nor did she lash out violently. She simply took the comments in stride as she continued to stare at the teen, seemingly looking for something that appeared to missing. Eventually her attention turned to the girl on his back, noticing her less than lively appearance, as well as the extensive amount of blood that now covered most of Naruto's back. A mere glance was all it took for Tsunade to label the girl as a lost cause, but she couldn't, in her right mind, let that stop her from trying. Not when it would give Naruto a reason to stick around.

"We are still in the process of treating a team that came back from a bad mission," the blonde explained. "We will do what we can for the girl, but I make no promises"

"Then stop talking about it. If you insist that I need a permanent guard, then they can follow us to the hospital," Naruto said emotionlessly.

Tsunade gave a nod to the ANBU, ordering them to stand down before heading off towards the hospital, Naruto following behind her. She sighed mentally, glancing back at his cold blue eyes. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The Hokage was not wrong in her assumption of a long night. The mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha could only be described as a complete disaster. The medical records were all one needed to see to know that much. With two young clan members now dead, one from the Akimichi clan, and the other from the Hyuuga, it was unlikely that Sasuke would be receiving any more sympathy from either clan from now on.

The stupid little brat had finally drawn the last straw. However, Tsunade knew that it meant nothing. The elders, along with Danzō, would see to it that all was swept under the rug, the blame taken off of Sasuke at all cost. After all, it would be unwise and foolish to let such a valuable Kekkei Genkai slip away so easily. Had this been a time of war, Tsunade would almost be inclined to agree with them. The Sharingan would be too valuable. But, as she signed off on the death certificates of the two boys, each barely in their teens, the Hokage had to wonder just how far things had to go before the line was finally drawn.

Forcing herself to focus more on the surviving members of the team, Tsunade still wasn't too pleased with the outcome. The Nara clan heir was the best off, physically that is. The psychological blow he took with the loss of his Akimichi friend was proving to be extreme. The Inuzuka had been roughed up rather badly, one of his more dire wounds having been self-inflicted, strangely enough. The Aburame boy was suffering from mild chakra exhaustion, multiple bone fractures, and some severe contusions, but was otherwise okay considering he had been the one to confront Sasuke himself. One of the more worrying cases was that of Rock Lee, a boy who by all means should not have even been out of his hospital room in the first place, but even he was stable medically.

There were also three extra medical check records that Tsunade was required to look over, each one being of the three-man Suna team sent to aid in the mission. How Suna even knew of the mission, let alone managed to send a team to assist so quickly, was something the Hokage would have to look into at a later date. It smelt fishy, but considering it stopped her from signing off an entire generation of clan heirs as dead, she would allow it to slide.

After the incident during the chunin exams, it made sense that Suna would be prepared to pounce at any chance it got to redeem itself in the eyes of Konoha. While both sides had lost a powerful Kage in the overall event, it was Konoha that took the brunt of the hit. The Ichibi's rampage resulted in more deaths and destruction than could be simply overlooked. It was only by the divine mercy of Konoha that Suna even had its jinchuuriki returned to them, although it was more due to the lack of any potential new jinchuuriki, and the unstable nature of the current one. That and the village would tear the boy apart had he been kept around.

Still, despite the animosity she held towards Suna, Tsunade was thankful for the help. If there was one thing she had learnt from her late sensei, it was how to move on from things, even if it took far too long to actually learn, and resulted in her losing more than she could ever imagine. She idly reached for the crystal necklace around her neck. Sometimes she really wished she had never inherited her grandfather's love of gambling. Then maybe she wouldn't have left so many important things to chance, and perhaps not have lost them in the process.

Taking a deep breath, Tsunade calmed herself. Walking through the hospital halls, she was not all that surprised to see many of the nurses and doctors were exhausted. While it had not been an exceptionally busy night, many of the staff had been working none stop for the past several weeks, tending to the numerous patients wounded during the chunin exams. It had only been recently that the hospital had finally stabilized itself, only for another, albeit smaller, incident to occur.

Making her way to a more private room in the ICU sector, Tsunade let the two ANBU guarding the door leave before entering herself. The girl that Naruto had brought in was something of a miracle. The doctors that had been assigned to her were fully expecting her to die on the operating table, yet she persevered. She was still in a less than okay condition, but at least she didn't have the Shinigami breathing down her neck anymore. Still, Tsunade figured that there was more to the girl than there appeared; a suspicion brought about by the simple fact that it was Naruto to bring her in.

Speaking of the boy, he was standing in the corner of the room, his eyes set keenly on the sleeping form of the girl. It would have almost been a cute scene had there been any warmth in his eyes, but his attention seemed to be more observational and calculating than caring.

"So, who is she? Your girlfriend?" Tsunade inquired, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him.

Naruto didn't even glance at her. "No" he answered simply.

"Then who is she? I need a name to put on her medical records," the Hokage said.

"Don't make any records then" the redhead countered.

Tsunade sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be easy. "I see you're still keeping your hair red. No doubt your mother would be proud," she said with an attempted smile.

"My mother is dead, Tsunade" Naruto replied coldly. "The hair is simply to keep Iwa off my back" he turned to look at her blankly. "Care to try at any more conversation topics?"

The blonde looked at him sadly. "Naruto, I know we aren't on the best terms…"

"We aren't on any terms. You know me, I know you. That is it"

"Come on, Naruto. I'm trying here" Tsunade pleaded softy.

The teen glared at her. "Don't you dare," he said. "Trying now means nothing when you didn't even try when I needed it. You and Jiraiya lost any and all rights to forgiveness with your negligence"

Tsunade looked down shamefully. "Alright then" she said softly. "The girl is stable now. I wouldn't recommend moving her for at least a week, but she should be fine for travel within a couple of weeks, if you intend to take her with you that is"

Naruto turned his attention back to the girl. "That is why I am here. I need you to teste her blood. Her chakra as well if necessary" he explained.

"What exactly are you trying to find?" the blonde asked curiously.

"Look for any traces of Uzumaki DNA, along with any signs in her chakra to indicate her as such"

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow. Looking at the girl, she could somewhat tell how she could pass off as an Uzumaki. The hair was right, as was the miraculous survival of otherwise fatal injuries and chakra exhaustion. But Tsunade still wasn't sold on the idea. Apparently, Naruto wasn't either. While not exactly happy with his attitude towards her, the Hokage wasn't going to refuse Naruto. Such action would only garner more of his ire.

"I'll do the tests, but they will take time," she said. "A day at least to get reasonably accurate results, and another two before I can clear her as not being in any real danger anymore. I can work on her recovery personally and move her discharge forward to four days, but that is the best I can do for her. She will still have to stay in the village for a little while so I can keep an eye on her"

"Take all the time you need. Just make sure you're thorough. I don't intend to waste time on her if she isn't at least part Uzumaki"

The Hokage nodded in understanding, holding back her desire to point out that she herself was part Uzumaki. Such a statement would not end well in the long run of things. "I had a room prepared for you at a nearby hotel. It will be available to you for so long as you are in the village. Is there anything else you need, Naruto?" she asked.

"I'll need an updated copy of Konoha's bingo book," he said, giving the woman an odd look. "Although I wonder… will that Uchiha I passed on the way here be included in it now? He didn't seem to have held back on that Aburame by the looks of things. Good thing the kid gave in before he got killed"

Tsunade's eyes widened. "You passed Sasuke?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess. Didn't pay much attention to him. His chakra was distinct though. I'm assuming it was Itachi's little brother"

"Yes, it was. There was an… incident. As far as we know, he has defected with the intention of joining Orochimaru. As you probably already know, the team we sent to retrieve him did not succeed"

The teen's eye twitched slightly. "I probably should have killed the kid then" he said before sighing. "Oh well, I'll just do it later"

"I doubt he will be added to the bingo books," Tsunade stated. "The elders won't allow Sasuke to be killed. He is, in a sense, under the same circumstances as you are"

Naruto scoffed. "Doubt it. Not that I really care. If he really has sided with Orochimaru, then he'll die soon enough anyway. He always has wanted those eyes"

Tsunade knew that the boy was probably right. Her old teammate had been lusting after the Sharingan for years now, so it made sense that Sasuke would be his prime target. And now, with the Uchiha walking right into his hands, there was very little that doubt in the Hokage's mind that Sasuke would come out second best. A prodigy he might have been, even if barely, but that amounted to nothing when faced with someone of Orochimaru's prowess. It was just a waiting game now, to see just when and how the snake would reveal his new shiny skin to the world.

Letting her thoughts drift back to Naruto, she took interest in what he had said regarding passing Sasuke on the way here. If he had also seen the condition of the Aburame boy, then it stood to reason that Naruto had followed the path of destruction made by the retrieval team. Glancing at the girl he had brought in, she turned to look at the boy suspiciously.

"Where exactly did you find this girl?" she asked.

"Hanging from a tree," Naruto answered.

"Naruto… was she one of the ones that assisted in Sasuke's escape?" Tsunade questioned.

He shrugged again. "Probably. Didn't actually see much in regards to the fighting. Why does it matter?"

"If she helped in the aid of Sasuke Uchiha's escape, then I will be forced to take her into custody. She will be tried for her crimes and punished accordingly. Considering that she is alive in the first place indicates that she was one of the two that killed two of Konoha's genin. The clans of the deceased will want to make sure that she is executed" Tsunade explained.

"Well then, I guess it would be best for you to keep your mouth shut until the tests are completed. If she is in fact an Uzumaki, then she falls under my clan's protection," Naruto said.

Tsunade shook her head. "She is not a registered shinobi or civilian of Konoha, and neither are you to an extent. There will be nothing stopping the clans from putting a bounty on her head. Even if she is an Uzumaki, that is nothing more than a name now, a simple legend in our history"

"So, what you're saying is that even now, with a Senju once again taking the mantle as Hokage, the Uzumaki are not properly respected by this village" he said coldly. "I could understand Hiruzen's reasoning for covering things up. It was pathetic and dishonourable, but I could understand his intentions, which for the most part were decent in nature. But, I cannot see why his mistakes have not been corrected after so long. You'd think thirteen years is enough time to sort things out. It's not as if my identity is a secret anymore"

"Many of the laws he created have been annulled, including the cover up of the Uzumaki clan's history with Konoha. That being said, one boy isn't enough to keep a clan, even the Uzumaki, in the system"

"Oh really?"

Tsunade chastised herself mentally, knowing the flaws in her words the moment they left her mouth.

"Then I suppose I should apologise for referring to you as a Senju. Clearly you cannot hold the clan name, being the only living member. And I guess that Uchiha, Sasuke or whatever, also doesn't get his clan name. How amusing. Konoha just lost three of its most prominent clans in the time frame of about thirty seconds. Be sure to explain that little titbit of information to the elders the next time they try and renounce my clan status"

The Hokage sighed deeply. "I'm too tired to argue with you, Naruto. I'll keep quiet until the tests are complete, but once the results are in, I will be required to inform the elders, and the clans, about this girl's involvement with the mission. What happens to her after that is dependent on how far you wish to take things"

Walking over to the hospital bed, Tsunade took a small sample of the girl's blood before giving her one last overlook. Happy with her condition, she walked back to the door and walked out, only to look back at Naruto.

"Come to my office tomorrow evening. I should have the results by then. Other than that, I merely ask that you try not to cause any trouble while you're here"

He grunted in response.

"And Naruto…" she looked down sadly. "It's nice to see you again," she said softly, closing the door as she left.

Naruto remained silent and unmoving for a few minutes afterwards, simply staring at Tayuya. Eventually, he gave in and sighed, walking out from the corner of the room and moving the window.

"You had better be worth this, girl," he said. "You have no idea how annoying things are going to get for me once they figure out who you are. But, if you are actually are an Uzumaki…" his eyes softened slightly. "Then I'll make sure you're worth it" he whispered softly.

"… Believe it"

* * *

 **A/N:**

So yeah, I decided to not make Naruto a complete and totally cold asshole. There are still fragments of his actual character in him, but don't expect them to show up very often. The actual personality of Naruto makes me rather sick, hence the OOC version. As you can see, this story will definitely not be full of forgiveness and the powers of friendship or any other forms of that weird crap from the actual anime/manga.

Now, I will actually be requesting help from you guys on a couple of things. For one, I have a lot of issues with understanding and conveying emotions, so if I happen to portray an emotion or something similar that is wrong or seems too robotic, please tell me and help me correct it. Grammar is my second point, and while I do proofread each chapter before posting, some mistakes may slip through. I would appreciate being informed of such slip ups. Other than that, some simple suggestions and ideas for this story can go a long way in helping me actually plan out awesome moments to come, so don't be shy with the reviews.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, the next update should hopefully be a little longer. Not sure when it'll be updated though, so don't hold me to any dates.

Till next time.

Soul out!


	3. Test Results

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto was, for a lack of better words, bored. Despite having not been within Konoha for just over thirteen years, there was almost nothing that had changed in a way to incite his interest. A lot of the village was actually still being rebuilt from the Ichibi's rampage. Personally, Naruto found it strange that a jinchuuriki was able to get so far into a rampage in the first place. Konoha was only recognised as the strongest village due to its history with the beasts, or more accurately, its habit of having shinobi that were unnaturally adept at containing or controlling them.

The concept of the weakest of the Bijuu causing so much destruction before someone among the plethora of legendary shinobi managed to put a stop to it sounded almost laughable. Still, the aftermath was not something Naruto could laugh at. Even if he disliked the village, there were too many innocents being effected. Only someone as sadistic as Orochimaru could really be pleased at the destruction of an entire village. But, that didn't mean that the redhead couldn't take a little bit of enjoyment in the fact that everyone was too busy to notice his presence half the time.

As it were, he had been walking around the village mindlessly for a good majority of the day. Actually, he had been at it since late last night. Needless to say, Naruto wasn't at all surprised to find that the hotel room provided so affectionately by Tsunade was being watched by ANBU. He had never intended on staying in it, but after finding all of the ANBU assigned to keeping tabs on him, he just couldn't resist messing with them. And so, it stood to reason that the majority of the ANBU that had been following him for the past several hours were about ready to call it quits.

Naruto would have been tempted to continue the game longer, all week if he was dedicated enough, but having lapped the village so many times already, he was getting bored. Deciding to give up, Naruto headed to the one place that he actually wanted to visit in the village. It took a while, and an awful amount of dawdling in a futile attempt to lose his tail, but eventually he did reach his destination.

All in all, Konoha's cemetery wasn't a flashy place, and it didn't need to be. If there was one thing that Konoha was good at, it was respecting the dead… most of the time. There were a few exceptions depending on one's opinion on how far respect should go. The attempted cover up of Naruto's existence and connection to his parents was one thing that could easily be seen as disrespectful, with the subsequent removal of the Uzumaki clan history being another. Thankfully, both had been very short lived in the scheme of things.

The teen walked lazily through the cemetery until he happened upon the two gravesites that he had been intending to visit. Each was just as simple and elegant as the others were. Not even a symbol out of place to distinguish them as more important. Sitting down on the grass in front of them, Naruto stared intently at the names. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. His parents. The two people who he knew loved him unconditionally, yet also the same two people who bestowed a terrible burden onto him.

A burden that nearly cost him his existence… in more ways than one.

Glancing over to the side, he saw a blank space next to his parent's graves. "And here I thought that I would remain dead in the eyes of this village" he drawled.

"A little difficult considering that you are still alive," someone said from behind him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the voice. "I was also under the impression that you spent most of your time at the memorial stone, not the cemetery"

Kakashi walked up and stood next to the boy. "Most of the time I do" he replied. "But I thought I would make an exception today. After all, the dead aren't going anywhere. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I ignored you over them, not when I have so much to make up for" he looked sideways at Naruto with his one visible eye. "I like the hair by the way"

"How long did it take them before they finally got rid of it?" the teen asked curiously.

"Hmm, a little while. The Sandaime wanted to try and maintain the cover up for as long as possible. In a way, I think he believed it would help you out a little. Keep you safe, you know, until you established yourself outside of the village," Kakashi answered. "But eventually he had to let the truth out. The village somewhat fell apart after Itachi slaughtered the Uchiha clan. Telling them that you were still alive was a decent distraction from things"

Naruto frowned. "I shouldn't have been dead in the first place"

The jonin sighed. "I know. And I am partly to blame for letting it happen. I should have seen the flaws in the Sandaime's plan. Perhaps I could have persuaded him to not go through with it"

Naruto yawned. "Well, there's nothing you can do about it now. Probably best that you stop dwelling on the past" he said.

Kakashi took notice of Naruto's tired voice. Combined with his slouched posture, and his half-lidded stare, the boy seemed in need of a good rest. "I take it you didn't sleep well last night" he commented.

"Haven't slept yet" Naruto replied with a smirk. "Going on three days now, actually. Been a little preoccupied with some of my recent targets. That, and I was having a little fun leading the ANBU around on a mind numbing wander"

"I can assure you that they weren't Tsunade's idea," Kakashi said. "The elders, along with some of the clans, aren't too comfortable with letting you wander the village as you please. Taking your profession into consideration, I don't think I blame them"

"It's not like I'm going to kill anyone inside the village. That would be stupid and suicidal"

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "True. But you could have very well been hired to do other forms of dirty work. I understand that stealing clan secrets and techniques is one of the things you did for another village"

Naruto shrugged. "There was a lot of money involved. I wasn't exactly in a position to reject the offer at the time"

"I'm not judging you for it. I have no right to. After all, my hands aren't exactly clean either. I'm just trying to justify the actions of the village. Whether you like it or not, you have amassed an interesting reputation over the past few years. It only makes sense that people would be suspicious of you"

"I don't really care what they think, or how suspicious they are. It only makes things worse when I can't even sleep with the comfort of knowing I'm not being watched like a hawk," the boy groaned. "And to think, all of this crap, just because my parents put a giant demon fox in my stomach"

There were a few awkward moments of silence, followed by the near audible sound of Kakashi deadpanning at the boy.

"You do realise that the fox isn't _actually_ in your stomach… right?" the jonin asked.

Naruto's eye twitched. "Yes, Kakashi… I am aware"

Kakashi merely eye-smiled. "Just making sure. You were a bit young when you left. Who knows what sort of crazy things could have made their way into that little head of yours"

Naruto's eye twitched more violently. "I suddenly remember one of my reasons for leaving this place," he growled.

"Really?"

As if to spite him, the jonin's eye-smile seemed to intensify.

"…I hate you"

* * *

Tsunade smiled as she watched Naruto and Kakashi interact. While the jonin did need to be encouraged to do so, it was obvious that he was glad to finally speak with the boy. Cancelling the jutsu, she placed the crystal ball back in a draw of her desk before resting her chin on her hands. She glanced sideways at the small file on the edge of her desk. The medical report that contained a decent amount of information on the girl that Naruto had brought with him.

There was absolutely no doubt in the Hokage's mind that the girl was Orochimaru's subordinate, which only made things more complicated. Naturally, her first course of action should have been to have the girl arrested and moved to the criminal sector of the hospital, but she couldn't find the willpower to do it. If she did, then she would certainly be jeopardizing any possible hope of fixing her relationship with Naruto, but if she didn't, then it could lead to a negative reaction from the clans. The elders were going to react badly to the whole situation anyway, so Tsunade didn't even bother counting them in the scheme of things.

Giving up on the mental battle of morals, Tsunade decided to wait until she told Naruto everything before she thought about making a decision on what to do with the girl. With the reputation the young Uzumaki had earned, it wouldn't be too farfetched to think that he was merely trying to find out the girl's worth before selling her to Konoha. A smart move considering the bounty that the Akimichi clan would no doubt place on her head. Naruto would be looking at a small fortune should that be his plan.

Still, there was always the chance that he would want to keep the girl. What his intentions with her would be, Tsunade wasn't entirely sure, and she didn't really feel like assuming either. Needless to say, the Hokage's understanding of boys, even of Naruto's age, combined with the obvious physical appeal the girl possessed, didn't add up to the prettiest of pictures. While she could hope that he was a better man than that, it was still a possible scenario.

Sighing deeply, Tsunade closed her eyes. "I'm getting too old for this"

"Don't say that. You're still as beautiful as ever, Tsunade"

The blonde held back the urge to growl. "Now is not a good time for you to be here, Jiraiya," she said irritably.

The man in question was quick to lose his otherwise goofy attitude. Not moving from his perch on the windowsill, he looked out over the village. "So, he's still mad as hell I take it" he said disappointedly.

"Did you really think he wouldn't be?" Tsunade retorted. "The forewarn message he sent me with a toad specifically said that you were not to be told about his being in the village. Which begs the question… just what in the hell _are_ you doing here?"

Jiraiya frowned. "I'm still his godfather, whether he likes it or not. Even if the toads aren't happy with how I went about things, they aren't quite prepared to lie to me for Naruto's sake"

Tsunade sneered. "So basically, they told you that Naruto wanted to keep you out of the loop, and you decided to some here anyway" she said. "And in what stupid part of your mind did you think that was a good idea?"

The toad sage glared at her lightly. "So what? You get to see him and I don't?"

"You moron! He only even looks at me because I'm the Hokage. He is only here because he needed my help with something. If it wasn't for that, I'm sure he'd still be happily leading you on a wild goose chase through the elemental nations," Tsunade said angrily. "Why can't you just grow up for once and realise that barging into things like this is not a good idea!"

"How else am I supposed to do it?" the man asked. "He wants nothing to do with me. How am I supposed to see him if I don't impose on moments like this. From what I understand, he's stuck here for a little while, and that gives me time to keep an eye on him"

Tsunade growled. "Your meddling is going to set him off. As soon as he catches wind of you being here, he might drop everything and vanish again. The elders still want him contained to the village, which you know damn well isn't going to happen. Are you going to pick up the pieces after he's torn his way through our shinobi to get his freedom?"

"Maybe it would be for the best," Jiraiya said. "Akatsuki is becoming more active. It's only a matter of time before they make a move. The longer that Naruto continues with this lone wolf act, the more danger he is in. If we can just keep him here, at least until I'm sure he can protect himself from them, that would better than nothing"

The Hokage grit her teeth, gripping her desk hard enough to strain the wood. "I will not allow you to hold Naruto here against his will. I am the Hokage, and this is my village. No one, not even you, will lay a hand on Naruto while I'm in charge. If you try to keep him here, by any means, I will have you stripped of your titles and shinobi rank," she said bitterly.

Jiraiya looked at her sternly. "You're really going to let him leave? I'm keeping tabs on a group of S-rank criminals that are showing interest in the jinchuuriki, and you're just going to abandon him because you don't feel like making a hard decision to protect him?"

Tsunade smiled sadly. "I already abandoned him. We both did. I'm simply sticking to my original mistake for the sake of a good cause," she said softly. "If there is one thing I do right with my life, it's making sure I never do wrong by Naruto ever again. And besides, I think it's about time that we told him about the Akatsuki. If he chooses to stay here for his own safety, then good. But if not, then that's okay"

"We shouldn't be giving him the option at all. He isn't ready for this. If we don't keep him here, if I don't train him, then he won't stand a chance"

"Maybe he will. We don't know, and we certainly don't have the right to decide for him. Sarutobi already tried that approach, and we both know how it turned out" Tsunade said. "Maybe it'll be best if we just admit defeat on this one. Naruto deserves his freedom. And if he wants to die, then he is free to do so on his own terms. The best we can do is be here for him if he decides he needs us"

Jiraiya shook his head in disappointment. "I'm not prepared to let my godson die because of his own arrogance. If the Akatsuki get a hold of the Kyuubi, it will only end in death and destruction. As the Hokage, you should be putting the safety of the village before your own feelings. Naruto needs to be contained here"

Tsunade turned and glared at him. "Naruto is not a shinobi of Konoha. He is not bound under my authority, or yours. He can do as he pleases, and that is exactly how it will remain. You are not to do anything to interfere with him at all. That is an order, Jiraiya. If you go against it, I swear, I will personally see to it that you regret coming back here"

Jiraiya continued to stare at the Hokage sternly before turning away with a grunt. "Fine. Have it your way. But once he's out of the village, even you can't stop me from protecting him"

"If his reputation is legitimate, then I won't have to" Tsunade countered. "Now, get out of my village before Naruto learns that you're here. I'm about to have more than enough problems to deal with without him being any angrier at me"

The sage went to leave, only to stop suddenly and look back at Tsunade. "I understand that Naruto brought a girl here with him. Apparently she was in bad shape, which is probably the thing he needed help with. Who is she?"

Tsunade sighed. "I have no idea. Naruto wouldn't say" she lied. "Not that it matters anymore. The girl passed away overnight. I have only waited so long to tell Naruto in hopes that he would find a reason to stay here for a while. He will most likely leave in the night after I give him the news"

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "That's too bad," he grumbled, dropping out of the window and making his way out of Konoha, leaving Tsunade alone in her office.

Neither of the two renowned shinobi took notice of a tiny toad, barely out of its tadpole stage in life, dispelling itself from its hiding place in a bookshelf.

* * *

Naruto stared at the toad before him in disbelief. He knew that the Hokage's office had lax security as far as Kage offices went, but he was actually astounded at how bad Konoha's was. Getting a toad in there was apparently the hard part; because once it was in, not a single person even found it before its mission was complete. To be completely honest with himself, Naruto almost felt like the accomplishment was cheating on his part.

Still, the information he had received was worth a little cheating in the long term. While still pissed off at the toads for selling him out, he was somewhat sated by the knowledge of Tsunade so readily opposing Jiraiya for his sake. It was actually rather interesting to see just how devoted the woman was to making up for her mistakes with him. She was actually going to much greater lengths than Naruto had anticipated, and from the sounds of things, she was prepared to go further. The direct lies to her own teammate were of significance in that regard.

While Tsunade didn't _actually_ know that Tayuya was in fact one of Orochimaru's personal guard, she wasn't stupid enough to have not picked up on the girls true identity. But she was still telling Jiraiya the half-truth about not knowing who she was, since Naruto still had yet to confirm anything. The real lie came with claiming that Tayuya had died overnight, which was definitely not true since Naruto was currently sitting at the end of her hospital bed. While her appearance was a little deceiving of the fact, she was still most certainly alive.

Dismissing his summons, Naruto adopted a thoughtful expression. His presence in the village was already causing problems at an alarming rate, and it was pretty much gospel that more problems would have wormed their way into the works of things by the end of the day. That gave the jinchuuriki approximately a week or so before things completely turned upside down and he would be forced to leave for the sake of the natural order. Thankfully, if he was able to guilt trip Tsunade into working overtime, he could be gone before things got really bad.

The door opened suddenly to reveal the livid expression of a boy, his eyes set almost exclusively on Tayuya.

 _'Or maybe the bad stuff could come barging right through the door'_ Naruto thought to himself. _'Shit!'_

The boy wasted little time in identifying Tayuya before pulling out a kunai. Naruto was just as quick to put himself between the boy and Tayuya, not entirely sure as to what was happening, but not willing to let the girl die before he knew if she was worth caring about. The boy seemed to have already planned ahead for Naruto's intervention, his hands joining in a seal before his shadow speared out towards the jinchuuriki's own shadow. Naruto was left immobilised, watching as the boy made a break towards Tayuya, kunai gripped tightly in his hand.

Flaring his chakra, Naruto overpowered the boy's technique, spinning around in time to grab him by the collar of his shirt and yank him back before he reached the girl. In his rage, the boy spun around as well, only to blindly drive his kunai deep into Naruto's stomach. Whether it was reality finally catching up to him, or perhaps the sensation of the blood soaking through his fingers, something seemed to knock the boy back to his senses in time to admire his handiwork.

Letting go of the kunai, the boy stared at his shaky hands before looking up fearfully at the cold blue eyes of his unintended victim. Naruto, for the most part, didn't care about being stabbed. It happened surprisingly often in his line of work, and it hadn't even gone all the way through, so it would heal quite quickly so long as he didn't exhaust himself somehow. What he did care about though, was what reason the boy had for barging in as he had and attempting to kill Tayuya.

Before he could question the kid, a new presence made itself known as a man raced into the room. He looked like an older and battered version of the kid, so Naruto made an instant connection of relation. That being said though, Naruto also recognised the man as the head of the Nara clan, which would mean the kid he was holding was more than likely also a Nara. Considering that Tayuya had just recently killed either an Akimichi or a Hyuuga, the latter seeming a little unlikely for her, then it stood to reason that the girl had probably killed this kids friend and teammate. A generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho team grouping being abruptly put to an end.

"Is this yours?" Naruto asked in a bored tone, shocking both the kid and his apparent father.

The man in question seemed more focused on the kunai stuck in Naruto's gut, along with the blood that covered his son's hand. "Shi… Shikamaru… what have you done?" he asked in horror.

Naruto carelessly threw the boy to his father. "Get out. If I catch you trying to kill her again, I'll kill you myself," he said casually, pulling out the kunai from his stomach and tossing it to the still stunned father. "And don't forget to take that with you"

"Shikaku?"

The three all turned to stare at Tsunade with varying expressions as she walked in on the scene. Naruto maintained his bored disposition, but did harden his gaze at the Hokage's appearance. Even if she had intrigued him with her decision to lie to Jiraiya, he wasn't going to let her get off that easily. Shikaku and Shikamaru, for the most part, were just looking at the Hokage in silent horror. Shikamaru was still in mild shock, and his father was in the middle of racing through every possible lie or excuse he could think of to get his son off the hook.

Tsunade observed the situation rather quickly before setting her eyes on Shikamaru. "Brat, you had better have one damn good explanation for this," she said, her voice holding a tone of warning.

That was enough to force Shikamaru back to reality. He grit his teeth angrily, pointing accusingly at the still sleeping girl on the bed. "She was with the group that helped Sasuke get away!" he exclaimed. "She was the one that Chōji stayed back to hold off! She killed him!"

The Hokage quirked an eyebrow at him. "And how are you so sure of that?"

"I can sense her chakra. There is no way I will ever forget it," he growled, before going slightly pale and turning slowly to look at Naruto. It was one thing to sense the chakra of the more powerful shinobi in the village, but Shikamaru was absolutely terrified of the amount that the older boy had in his body. It was inhuman. And strangely enough, it held similarities to the girl's. It made the realisation that he had stabbed the guy a bit more jarring.

Tsunade held back a groan as she rubbed her eyes. "Perfect. A sensor type. Just what I need to deal with," she muttered. "Shikaku, you are to keep your son at your side at all times, effective immediately, until I say otherwise. The girl's identity is officially classified as an S-rank secret. You should know what will happen if either of you decides to let the information slip"

Shikaku nodded in understanding before glancing at Tayuya. "And what of the girl? Mind explaining why we are caring for an enemy, lady Hokage?" he asked. "And what about him?" he added, looking pointedly at Naruto. "What is his connection to this?"

"I do not like to explain myself twice. Both topics will be covered in the upcoming clan meeting, which I have no doubt will be happening within the next few days, if not hours" Tsunade replied irritably.

The elder Nara frowned. "I'll deal with my son. I trust that there is a reasonable explanation for this"

Tsunade sighed. "As reasonable as it could be"

Shikaku was quick to leave, dragging a still vengeful Shikamaru behind him as he went. Tsunade closed the door and locked it before turning to look at Naruto worriedly, her eyes set on the stab wound.

"Are you alright?"

Naruto offered an unenthusiastic shrug. "The room is a little cold" he remarked flippantly.

"Dammit, Naruto! You just got stabbed! Act a little human about it!" Tsunade snapped.

"Why are you here, Tsunade?" he asked bluntly. "I thought I was supposed to see you this evening about the test results"

Tsunade groaned. "Well, as I was just telling Shikaku, there is no doubt going to be a clan meeting in regards to this mess, especially now that Shikamaru has just identified that girl as the one who killed Chōji" she explained. "Since everything is going to blow up in my face, I thought I might as well talk to you first so you have time to get out before you get dragged into this"

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "That's very considerate. But I get the feeling that the clans and elders are already aware of my still being here, and will therefore be expecting me to attend, regardless of my intentions"

"Yes, that is most likely the case, but they can't stop you from leaving before the meeting is even called. I haven't commanded you be kept here, so there is nothing stopping you… for now anyway"

The jinchuuriki nodded in understanding. "Well then, what showed up in the test results?" he asked.

Tsunade took a deep breath. "The simple answer… she is definitely not an Uzumaki. By blood anyway" she answered.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Elaborate" he said impatiently.

"Her bloodwork showed no matching DNA with any on file Uzumaki DNA we have here. That being said, tissue samples did show some matching DNA. Her chakra is another story entirely. It's a complete match for an Uzumaki chakra type," the Hokage explained.

"You know that makes little sense, right?" he asked her.

"I've concluded that this girl was one of Orochimaru's more elaborate test subjects. Many of her vital organs have been transplanted multiple times, but her body's ability to accept alien tissue and chakra is beyond anything I've ever seen. It could potentially be a rare Kekkei Genkai, or a genetic trait of sorts obtained through experiments. Needless to say, it is likely the sole reason she is still alive after all her injuries. Her body is simply designed for survival"

Tsunade handed Naruto the test result file. "While she isn't an Uzumaki, there were other things that I found that I believe you might find interesting," she said. "For one, it appears as though here entire chakra network was transfused with the chakra of an Uzumaki, which, when considering her body's ability to accept foreign tissue, resulted in her adopting the unique chakra. Many of her organs also register as a DNA match to an Uzumaki, but without a sample from the donor, I can't be one hundred percent sure"

Naruto sighed in disappointment. "So she's just a lab rat," he muttered, checking over the file to make sure Tsunade was telling the truth.

"Yes and no" the Hokage commented softly. "There is something I left out of the official report. I didn't want it to be kept on file in case someone found it"

"You know, if you keep taking these suspenseful breaks in your explanation, I will get annoyed," he said, looking at her to continue.

The blonde rolled her eyes at him. "While examining the girl, I checked her reproductive organs. Normally, Orochimaru would sterilize any female subordinate he has unless he had specific intentions of breeding them. This girl is not only unsterilized, but also has the perfectly healthy reproductive organs of an Uzumaki. Technically speaking, she has the potential to give birth to full blooded Uzumaki children"

That was enough to catch Naruto's attention. He looked at her with wide eyes, glancing rapidly back and forth between Tayuya and Tsunade. "Seriously?"

"As far as I can tell, yes. Although it might not work that way. Her body's ability is still a mystery to me. She heals in a similar way to you, which makes dating the organs difficult. They could have been transplanted very recently, which could indicate that her body simply hasn't had time to adapt to them fully and absorb them completely. The DNA might potentially be rewritten to her original DNA, which could explain why there are indicators of numerous transplants. Overall, she is a medical anomaly. As for the children, they could go either way. They could take after her, or they could take after the Uzumaki whose organs she has. In case you were wondering, the chances of them being full Uzumaki would be greatly increased if you were the father," Tsunade said.

The boy shook his head. "Not my intention" he said quickly. "But, I won't deny that it is interesting. Seems like Orochimaru is, or rather was, trying to breed some Uzumaki for his ranks"

"I wouldn't think that this girl was his only attempt, although she is most likely one of the few successful subjects. Her age is also convenient. Physically, I'd put her at about sixteen years. While it would have been possible to impregnate her earlier, I'd guess that Orochimaru wasn't quite ready to take many chances with her. That being said though, since she is technically able to give birth with little to no complications, and since she has a high chance of producing full blooded Uzumaki children…" Tsunade trailed off.

"The elders will want her kept in Konoha to rebuild the clan, probably getting rid of her after they have enough children. I bet some of the clans will also be interested in her. Combining existing clans that have secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai with the extreme vitality and chakra potential of an Uzumaki would make Konoha unstoppable," Naruto guessed irritably.

The Hokage looked at the girl sympathetically. "If she stays here, it'll be a living hell for her"

Naruto looked at Tayuya coldly. "We could kill her. Make sure she couldn't be used for that," he suggested.

"We could" Tsunade agreed. "But do you really want to? She is one of the last people alive that could potentially continue the Uzumaki clan. Killing her would be putting your family one step closer to extinction"

The two remained in a tense silence for several moments, both staring thoughtfully at Tayuya.

Eventually Naruto sighed. "Go and sort out the clan meeting. I'll deal with the girl. Keep an ANBU squad guarding the room just in case"

"Will you be attending the meeting?" the blonde asked curiously. "You are still technically allowed to"

"Maybe"

Tsunade accepted the answer and walked to the door, pausing just before opening it. "Naruto, don't do anything rash" she said without turning around. "Don't make a mistake like I did. Make sure you won't regret the decisions you make," she continued softly.

"Stop trying to guilt trip me, Tsunade," he said, making her flinch slightly. "But thanks for lying to the toad. Make sure to think carefully before cashing in the I.O.U."

The woman smiled and quickly left the room. Naruto sensed the four chakra signatures that quickly positioned themselves at each of the potential vantage points outside the room. He groaned and scratched his head. Sauntering back over to the bed, he sat himself back on the end of it.

"This is going to be a really big mistake," he mumbled, looking down at Tayuya.

She wasn't in any condition to be moved yet. Taking her apparent Kekkei Genkai into account, moving her wouldn't be too dangerous, but it would definitely slow down her recovery. If he were to take her and run, then he would be slowed down considerably, leaving both of them vulnerable. In the end, it was just too risky.

"I hope Tsunade doesn't mind cleaning up this mess. Oh well… I'll pay for it somehow," he said, drawing his sword slowly.

"Besides… they already took all my money. I'm sure they can afford to clean up a little blood"

* * *

 **A/N:**

So, as promised, this chapter is a little bit longer than the others. Unfortunately, it is also comprised primarily of dialogue explanation stuff, so I imagine that it wasn't all too exciting to read. I apologize for that, but I really needed to get the explanation of Tayuya's condition out of the way. Hopefully, everyone is a little happy with the unique way I am going with her, I just wasn't mentally okay with simply calling her an Uzumaki for the sake of the story, so I created a reason. Anyway, I'm not sure how long it will be until this is updated again as I will probably be working on my other fanfic. Chapter lengths are completely random with this story as well. I have done word requirements with chapters for other stories and it is hell. Chapters will be as long or as short as they are required to be.

Reviews have been good so far, no negativity that I am aware of, which is good. Keep posting reviews guys. Anything really, just make sure to let me know what you think, even if it's bad.

Next chapter should be a little more eventful, so hopefully it'll be good.

Till next time.

Soul out!

* * *

 **Update: Rant.**

 **Subject: Shikamaru stabbing scene.**

After a couple of reviews, one of which being more harsh than necessary, it has become very apparent that the scene where I had Shikamaru stab Naruto is a real story breaker for some people. Funnily enough, their reasoning for this is, in a way, understandable, but also wrong and not properly thought out. So, I have come back to this chapter to explain right here and now that that scene was in no way about Shikamaru, a genin (as is the main complaint) getting the better of Naruto. I stated in this chapter that Naruto doesn't care about being stabbed because it is a minor wound for him, I continue to do so in the next chapter even. His getting stabbed was simply me showing how little care he actually has for putting effort into defending himself from a genin, who he knows couldn't kill him. As for getting caught in the shadow jutsu, they were in a small room, Naruto was standing his ground between Shikamaru and Tayuya, and he had absolutely no idea what Shikamaru would be capable of. They were at most eight feet away from each other in a small room. The shadow jutsu was a merely a surprise. I even had Naruto break it effortlessly just to show how useless it was against him.

This issue is clearly my fault, and I do take responsibility for not making things clearer. To those of you that read this scene and didn't understand what I was trying to convey, yet still continued to read the story, thank you. To the handful that have a stick up their ass and drop stories because of a single thing they didn't understand or agree with, piss off and go read Twilight.

And now I can confidently say that I have definitely pissed a few people off. With that, I'm going to end this rant here. Hopefully this clears up this scene for those of you that are actually enjoying this story, and hopefully it gets that handful of people off my back about it in the process. Again, I'm sorry for not making it clear enough, and I'm also sorry for having to come back to do this in such a shitty mood, hence the unfriendliness.

Thanks for reading.


	4. Up Against the Wall

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

The hours following the attempt on Tayuya's life had been just as chaotic as could have been expected. The elders demanded the meeting be held as soon as possible, completely disregarding the late hour and the emotional state of one of the clan heads. It was rude to say the least, and absolutely unnecessary. Had Naruto not been in the village, Tsunade would have been able to postpone the whole event until it suited everyone. Unfortunately, neither the elders, Danzō, nor some of the clan heads, wanted to miss the chance of having Naruto present at the meeting.

Naturally, the Hokage was suspicious of the efforts being put into assuring the boys attendance of a clan meeting, especially since he had not stepped foot inside the village for over thirteen years. By all accounts, he would have little to no idea as to how the village ran, what issues it was facing, and his political power was next to nothing. His presence at such a meeting was pointless, save for the possibility of one of the other clans proposing a union of some sorts. As the rightful heir to the Uzumaki clan, as well as the son of the fourth Hokage, Naruto was considered an invaluable resource in the quest of empowering a clan.

Tsunade figured that Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan, would be the quickest to offer such a union. The man, while seemingly harsh and cold towards anyone and anything that didn't offer a chance of strengthening his clan, was slightly misunderstood. Still, that wouldn't stop him from offering his eldest to Naruto. Despite the Hyuuga's reputation and their famously sought after Dōjutsu, they were not a clan prone to having large chakra reserves, leaving them somewhat weak in comparisons to other clans. Any children Naruto would have with a Hyuuga could quite possibly fix that, and so it stood to reason that Hiashi would try his best to secure the Uzumaki.

The same could be said about the other clan heads, but few of them had female heirs to offer as the Hyuuga did. None would risk offering Naruto a mere relative of the clan's main family, lest it be seen as an insult. That only left the Yamanaka and Inuzuka clans as possible challengers to the Hyuuga. But now, with Tayuya being more or less a living Uzumaki, more unsavoury opportunities would no doubt be revealed. Those with male heirs could demand the girl be used to bolster Konoha's clans, the elders could demand she be used to rebuild the lost clan, or worse, everyone could demand she be used for both purposes.

The Hokage had seen some messed up things during her lifetime, which she hated to admit was rather lengthy. That being said though, she wasn't quite prepared to see an entire village use a girl as nothing more than a simple baby maker. Such things had been attempted in the past, most notably by Kumogakure, and the results were never pretty. If Tsunade wished to see the girl suffer in agony over and over again until her mind broke, then she would have gladly caved her skull in upon learning of her condition. Luckily for Tayuya, Tsunade was prepared to make sure such horrors never manifested themselves into Konoha's history.

"So… when is this meeting supposed to start?"

Tsunade looked up from her desk and stared at Naruto in surprise. "Naruto, uh, sorry, I didn't hear you come in"

Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "I snuck in while you were busy overthinking"

"Oh" she replied in annoyance. "Well, the meeting is being forced upon all of us at the moment. The elders are pulling every string available to them to make sure it goes through. They have even gone so far as to say it is of utmost importance to the peace and longevity of the village"

"Because that doesn't sound unconvincing at all," the teen said sarcastically.

"Whether it's convincing or not, we are still required to attend in case it truly is as important as they are alluding it to be. One of the few downsides to being a part of the politics in this village I suppose" Tsunade grumbled.

Naruto snarled. "Why can't I go back to being dead here?" he asked. "I do not have time to be harassed by a bunch of old people just because my parents were cooler than they are"

Tsunade snickered at the comment. "Unfortunately, you are too important to simply leave as dead, especially since you're alive in the first place. So long as you are in Konoha, you are regarded as the clan head of the Uzumaki, as well as Minato's son, which pretty much guarantees that at least someone is going to want you there" she explained.

"This is why I like Kiri. No one forces anyone to do anything out of fear of getting killed" he shook his head of those thoughts. "Anyway, what can I expect in this meeting, other than people tiptoeing around me like I'm glass?" he asked.

"I doubt they will be doing that," Tsunade said. "Chances are they will be more forceful in their attempts to keep you here. That aside though, the Hyuuga, and Yamanaka clans might offer a marriage proposal between you and the heirs; I struggle to imagine that the Inuzuka will attempt such a thing, but be prepared for it anyway. Though I fear that there will be more prominent things to be concerned about after I reveal that girl's condition"

Naruto grunted. "That'll be a shitstorm and a half," he muttered.

Tsunade nodded. "I hope for both yours and her sake that you have prepared to deal with this issue. If you aren't able to secure her safety, if that is even your intention, then I will be forced to resort to more… unfortunate methods. Needless to say, I don't intend to let anyone in this village use her for the purposes they will be wanting to, even if I have to kill her myself"

"I wouldn't worry about it. She has already been dealt with. No matter what anyone tries, they won't get a hold of her… for the moment anyway," Naruto said. "Her name is Tayuya by the way. One of Orochimaru's personal guard apparently, if my sources are anything to go by. Just thought you might want to know. Could be good leverage in ordering her to be executed instead of kept"

The Hokage sighed deeply. "I guess we will just have to wait and see how things go"

The office door opened suddenly and the two looked curiously towards the woman that entered. The woman, in return, gave Naruto a wary and unsure expression.

"Ah, Shizune. I suppose that everything is ready to begin then?" Tsunade asked.

Shizune nodded. "Yes, lady Tsunade. The meeting room has been prepared and many of the clan heads are already present. They are waiting on you to begin," she said politely. "But if this meeting is important, I'm sure I can tell them that you are delayed" she added, gesturing to Naruto.

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I'd rather get this over with sooner rather than later" she said, standing up and walking to the door. "Come on, Naruto. Let's go"

"You sure you don't want a drink before we go in?" the boy asked.

"Hah! No way" the blonde exclaimed. "I've been sober for nearly four years now. I'm not going to put an end to the one winning streak I've ever had just because of a meeting"

Naruto shrugged. "Suit yourself"

The trio left the room and Shizune guided them through the hallways of the Hokage tower until they happened upon a rather isolated room. Naruto could tell that the room was built with either really thick walls, or especially thin walls with spaces in-between for shinobi to hide and spy on meetings being held within. It was either a room built with the intention of perfect safety of vital information, or a decoy room to learn secrets from others or spread false secrets. Judging by the chakra he could sense in the walls though, Naruto guess that it was also used to make sure the occupants were never far away from their guards when dealing with an outsider.

It was just unlucky that he was the outsider in this situation.

Shizune opened the door and ushered the two inside before closing it behind them. Tsunade made some hand seals and placed her hand on the door, a complex array of seals woven throughout the room activating and making the door merge with the walls, seemingly ceasing to exist. The room didn't have any windows, and with the shinobi all positioned throughout the walls it was unlikely that there was any conceivable way to get out without a fight. Naruto was almost annoyed that he didn't suspect an actual trap until he was already in the middle of it.

Glancing at Tsunade, he could see that she was tense and agitated, her eyes glaring holes into the heads of the two elders and Danzō. The three in question simply sat at the table with the ever-present smug attitude that seemed to emanate from almost anyone with political power. Naruto felt confident in his assumption that they had gone ahead and orchestrated the trap without Tsunade's permission or knowledge. Despite her stubbornness, Tsunade wasn't quite brazen enough to try and hold him against his will in a room full of the most important people in the village.

 _'Are they stupid or just ignorant?'_ he questioned to himself.

Looking around, Naruto was actually somewhat pleased with the layout of the room. He had been expecting something more grandiose given that the elders were present, but it was actually rather humble. The room was blank and appropriately lit up, a large and simple table placed in the centre of it for the clan heads, elders, and the Hokage to sit at. No one was singled out as special except for Tsunade herself, who had one end of the table all to her own.

The elders, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, sat on opposite sides of Danzō Shimura; the three of them positioned together on one side of the table directly to Tsunade's left. The rest of the table was occupied by the clan heads. On the opposite side of the elders sat Inoichi Yamanaka, Chōza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, Tsume Inuzuka, Shibi Aburame, and strangely enough, Kakashi Hatake, all filling up one side of the table with the odd addition of Shikamaru standing behind his father. The remaining spots on the other side were taken by Hiashi Hyuuga and Asuma Sarutobi, leaving a chair next to the latter intended for Naruto. Deciding to do as he always had and go against the norm or expected, he grabbed the chair and placed it at the end of the table opposite of Tsunade and sat down, ignoring the glares and amused expression of the others at the table.

"Well then, since we're all here now, why don't we begin" Tsunade said irritably. "For one, I would like to know just what was so important that this meeting couldn't wait until tomorrow"

"Perhaps it would be best if the young one be excused from this meeting," Koharu said, looking at Shikamaru.

"The boy is to remain by his father's side under my order. He has become privileged to an S-rank secret recently and I could not risk him leaking such information until well after this meeting is over" the Hokage explained. "Not that I really expect anything from this meeting to stay a secret" she muttered bitterly.

"Very well then" Homura said, clearing his throat. "This clan meeting was called in regards to the sudden return of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki"

"You know I'm sitting right here, right? And I do have a name" Naruto interrupted.

Homura ignored him. "We are wishing to know to what extent his return is. If he intends to stay, there are many things that must be done to accommodate him properly," he said.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I am not the one to be asking, elder Homura. If you wish to know his intentions, then perhaps it would be best to ask Naruto himself," she said. "And I do so hope that this was not the only reason that this meeting was called. There are far more important things that we could be devoting our time to, such as the mourning of our recently lost shinobi and organising their burials"

She saw Chōza flinch at her words, and although she didn't like using death as an excuse, she didn't have many other options at the moment.

"Before things go any further, I think we need to agree upon just how we are going to refer to young Naruto here," Tsume said. "I for one am not comfortable with him being referred to simply as 'the jinchuuriki'. It is disrespectful, not only to the boy, but also to his parents, and I will not stand for it"

"I'm in agreement. The Yondaime would not have allowed such a title be used over the name he gave his son" Shibi agreed, turning to look at Naruto from behind his shaded glasses. "Do you have any preferences as to what you want us to refer to you as?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't really know any of you, so it doesn't matter much to me. Definitely a no go on 'the jinchuuriki' though. That gets really old real fast. I definitely don't want to be referred to as lord Namikaze either, or even lord Uzumaki for that matter. Not my style"

As he had been talking, Naruto noticed that Shikamaru had paled drastically, more so than he had when he had sensed his chakra. At this point, the poor kid was staring at Naruto with a terrified expression.

Grinning slightly, he looked straight at the boy, causing him to inhale sharply. "You feeling okay kid? You look about ready to drop dead," Naruto said.

Shikamaru stared back at him fearfully. "You're… you're Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze" he said shakily. "Son of Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage, and Kushina Uzumaki, the previous jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Heir to the Uzumaki clan and current jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, as well as an A-rank shinobi listed in the bingo books of Iwa, Kumo, Kiri, Konoha, and several smaller villages" he listed off robotically.

Naruto gawked slightly at the boy before turning to look at Tsunade questioningly. "Did they focus a lot on me in history class, or is he just a special fan?"

Tsunade smirked. "I may have changed the curriculum to acknowledge more of Konoha's history. You and Itachi are prime examples of the new additions to the history class. As it is, everyone in the village is now aware of who and what you are," she said. "Of course, there may have been a little meddling on my part. But it worked out for the best"

"Naruto, if you don't mind my asking, what is the punishment you intend to inflict upon my son?" Shikaku asked in a serious tone, getting odd looks from everyone.

"Shikaku, what is this about?" Koharu asked.

The Nara sighed, looking to Tsunade for permission to explain. The Hokage nodded an okay and the man turned back to the assembled group. "Earlier this evening, my son, in a blind rage, attempted to kill a girl that he identified as one of the shinobi that assisted in Sasuke Uchiha's escape from the village. Naruto intervened, resulting in his being stabbed by my son's hand, and while I can see that the injury was not serious, I still do not expect for such an act to be ignored"

"Huh, so that's why I had blood on my shirt" Naruto said thoughtfully.

Everyone deadpanned at him.

"You forget that someone stabbed you?" Tsume asked in disbelief.

"Do you by chance suffer from a mental illness? Perhaps I could be of some help," Inoichi offered.

Naruto's eye twitched. "Okay, first, I didn't forget about it, I just ignored that it happened in the first place. Seriously, I've been stabbed so many times that it might as well be a form of friendly greeting by this point… Actually, now that I think about it, I'm sure I know someone who does that" he said, earning worried and slightly guilty looks from the clan heads. "As for the mental illness, I don't think so, but I would have to decline the offer anyway. Sorry to say, but I don't trust people who can mess with my mind… not after last time"

The last part made the clan heads flinch, especially Inoichi. Koharu 'humph'd' and turned her nose up at the boy while Homura had the decency to at least look down. Danzō was the only one who didn't react in any way. Even Shibi tensed up ever so slightly at the comment. Tsunade took the time to curse her late sensei's efforts to cover up Naruto's existence. The Sandaime had really gone to excessive lengths to make sure that no word of Minato's son being alive got out of the village.

It was one thing to label the boy as dead, it was another to make laws forbidding anyone from speaking about his identity, but going so far as to have a Yamanaka construct a false childhood for Naruto so that he himself wouldn't reveal anything… it was nearly barbaric. Still, Tsunade couldn't exactly fault her sensei. He was stressed and overworked at the time. The village was weakened considerably by the Kyuubi's attack, more than a few of their stronger shinobi perished in the event. Had Iwa, or even Kumo, gotten hold of information regarding their weakness, then it was likely that Konoha would have fallen to either of the two. The Sandaime had worked tirelessly to ensure, not only the safety of Naruto, but also of the village as a whole.

It just didn't help that his efforts were stretched so thin at the time.

Inoichi nodded his head in understanding. "I can respect that. However, should you ever require the services of my clan, please feel free to request them. Even if you are not a shinobi or citizen of Konoha, I feel that owe you a great debt for the misery I allowed you to be put through," he said.

The man's teammates, Chōza and Shikaku, understood the Yamanaka's meaning more than most did. Very few people had ever laid eyes on the end result of a failed mind altering jutsu, and it was probably for the best. If the mind wasn't completely shattered from its inner struggles with itself, then the person effected usually wound up killing themselves anyway, not being able to distinguish memory from carefully constructed lie. It was an unpleasant, if not mentally torturous experience. And yet, Naruto had come out of it relatively unscathed, much to everyone's surprise. Of course, it had lead almost directly to his leaving the village, so in a way, it wasn't a good outcome anyway.

"I'll keep that in mind," Naruto said, turning to look at Shikaku. "As for the stabbing incident. I wouldn't worry too much about it. So long as Shikamaru doesn't do it again, I won't have any reason to kill him. Besides…" the teen observed the Akimichi clan head keenly. "If I found the one that killed my friend, I would probably try to kill her too"

Chōza barely even flinched. "So, you found the one that killed my son?" he asked softly, looking straight at Naruto. "What exactly do you plan on doing with her?"

Naruto matched man's stare. "My plans for the girl are relevant to the outcome of this meeting," he said. "When I brought her here, I had Tsunade run medical checks. The results were interesting. The girl, Tayuya of the north gate, one of Orochimaru's personal guard, not only possesses an unknown and strange Kekkei Genkai of sorts, but is also of great importance to my clan" he explained.

Danzō was unsurprisingly the first to speak up in light of the new information. "What kind of Kekkei Genkai does the girl possess? Perhaps it could be better utilised within our own forces," he said, the well-oiled gears of war turning within his mind.

Tsunade decided to add her input to the conversation. "The Kekkei Genkai itself is somewhat unremarkable. As far as I could tell, it only gives the girl's body a greatly heightened ability to accept transplanted tissue alongside notable regenerative capabilities. In the end, such a bloodline, if it is even hereditary, would be useless unless we wished to transplant differing Dōjutsu into a single shinobi. The Uchiha are all but gone now, and the Hyuuga have gone to great lengths in the past to ensure their family Dōjutsu is kept within the family. I doubt we could use the girls Kekkei Genkai in any way that counts," she explained.

"Then why bring it up?" Shibi asked. "Surely it holds some form of relevance to this meeting"

Shikaku hummed thoughtfully. "Naruto already stated that the girl is of importance to his clan," he said. "The Kekkei Genkai seems eerily similar to the supposed unnatural vitality of the Uzumaki clan, so I assume that she belongs to your clan"

Everyone perked up at that statement.

"Unfortunately, she isn't an Uzumaki" Naruto said bluntly, wiping the hopeful expression of the elders off of their faces. "But her Kekkei Genkai has resulted in something close enough to not be ignored"

"Indeed" Tsunade said. "It seems that Orochimaru transplanted multiple organs from an unknown Uzumaki source. Her body has adopted the organs perfectly, including an entirely transplanted reproductive system. Technically speaking, this leaves the girl as one of the last remaining people capable of reviving the Uzumaki clan"

"So what?" Asuma asked irritably. "She killed one of our shinobi and aided in the escape of another. I am not prepared to let someone walk free from their crimes simply because they have a connection to an important clan. My father would not have stood for this kind of blatant favouritism"

Tsume snorted. "We're shinobi Asuma. She followed her orders and our shinobi did the same. It's pointless calling it a crime. As for favouritism, just look at the Uchiha. Orochimaru put a curse mark on the brat and we allowed him to continue with the chunin exams simply because he was too prideful to back down. Look how that all turned out. Now we've lost the last Uchiha, and he's gone running off to the snake bastard"

"I do not think we should be hasty in putting such a potentially valuable asset to death," Hiashi said coolly. "The Uzumaki clan was renowned for a reason. It would be foolish to allow such a clan to die out because of mere vengeance"

"If you're implying we use her as breeding stock, Hyuuga, then you had better prep your ass for one hell of a beat down," Tsume growled angrily.

The Hyuuga simply looked at the wild looking woman emotionlessly. "I don't see what your issues with it are. Does your clan not use similar tactics with its dogs? Hypocrisy is not something you should succumb to as a clan head if you intend to get far"

Tsume slammed her hands down on the table. "Don't you fucking dare use that against my clan you inbreeding shitstain! At least we respect our dogs as partners instead of segregating them and treating them no better than servants like your clan do to your own family!" she yelled angrily.

"Everyone shut up!" surprisingly enough, it was Chōza who yelled this time. "No one is going to use my son's killer in that way. I will not let it go down in history that my son was slain by a girl that we later broke and whored out just to revive a clan"

"Then what do _you_ propose we do with her?" Koharu inquired.

"Perhaps we could have her redeem herself," Shikaku suggested. "If possible, she could be persuaded to turn on Orochimaru, giving us a common enemy. At that point, her services would be to our benefit. Giving her the choice of restarting the clan could also be an option, but I agree that it should not be something forced upon her"

Homura grunted. "The girl is not needed for the clan's revival," he stated. "We already have an Uzumaki, a strong one at that. Naruto's lineage is not something we should overlook just because a new option has made itself available"

A perverted giggle silenced the room as everyone turned and stared at Kakashi with displeasure.

Tsunade's eye twitched slightly. "Care to add anything to the meeting, Kakashi?" she asked.

The cycloptic jonin's gaze never left the pages of his small colourful book. "Hmm, not particularly. You all seem to be getting everything done without me, like usual," he said flippantly.

The inevitable outburst at the man's attitude and careless disregard for the meeting were put on hold as the sound of frantic banging echoed through the room. The seals keeping the room locked down and private were activated, making the door reappear, only for it to be thrown open. A shocked and dishevelled looking Shizune entered, her breathing heavy and her clothes covered in blood.

"Lady Tsunade. There's been an incident," she said frantically.

Tsunade was by the woman's side in a heartbeat. "Shizune! What happened?"

"There was an explosion from one of the rooms. When we went to investigate, all we could find was blood. Whatever the explosion was, it liquefied everything else in the room," Shizune explained.

"What room was it?" Tsunade asked, a sinking feeling forming in her stomach as she guessed what the woman's answer would be.

"The one you put that girl in"

Naruto chuckled. "Well, I guess that cat's out of the bag" he said, standing up and stretching his back. "I suppose someone was a little too eager to get their hands on Tayuya for their own purposes. Oh well, not much any of us can do about that"

"Naruto! What is the meaning of this?" Koharu demanded.

"This is something I set up as a backup plan," the teen answered. "You see, while most of you seem nice enough, I simply don't trust any of you. I barely trust Tsunade, and she has stood by me the entire time I have been back here. So, before coming here, I whipped up a little, uh, let's call it a counter-trap"

"You attacked the hospital?" Shikaku asked in surprise.

Naruto frowned. "I'm cornered, not psychopathic," he drawled. "You'll find that the damage to the hospital is restricted to the room that Tayuya was being held in. A little surprise gift for the first people to try and take her. Don't worry though; she isn't dead, simply moved to a safer location"

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Koharu asked, glaring at the jinchuuriki.

"The real question is, do any of you realise what _you've_ done?" Naruto retorted, earning strange looks from all present in the room. "Let me explain something to you all. Not only have at least one of you attempted to kidnap someone who I have openly protected mere hours ago, but some of you had the smart idea of locking me in a room full of the most powerful and influential people in Konoha. Of course, there are also numerous ANBU surrounding this room just in case, but the point has been made quite clear. This is your way of trapping me here"

Many of the clan heads sent disapproving looks towards the elders and Danzō.

"The hospital is of no concern," Danzō said emotionlessly. "You yourself have said that the damage was contained. Whatever leverage you might have gained from such a thing is now lost, and we have you surrounded"

"What the hell do you three think you're doing?!" Tsunade yelled. "You do not have the right to go around my authority and take actions like this"

"We act for the betterment of this village," Koharu said. "Since you are too unwilling to use the force required, we are doing so for you. The jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi belongs to Konoha, and it will stay here, whether he wishes to or not"

"That is not how this system works!" Asuma shouted. "My father saw to it that Naruto was allowed to leave this village peacefully, without the interference of anyone else in the village. I won't let you ruin his good intentions just because you're too stubborn to give up a weapon!"

"The village needs the jinchuuriki" Hiashi stated calmly. "With the blow that was dealt during the chunin exams, it was made explicitly clear how vulnerable we are to the might of a Bijuu. Without our own jinchuuriki, we cannot defend ourselves from the other villages. I for one will not put my clans Dōjutsu at risk of being stolen by Kumo when we could easily have a deterrent"

Tsume growled. "I will not be a part of this. It was one thing to disrespect and disobey the Yondaime's final wishes for the intention of keeping everyone, including Naruto, safe. This… this is not for safety. This is you being greedy. The thought of the other villages actually being stronger than Konoha gets on your nerves"

"Tsume is right. There is no legitimate reasoning for this. If anything, acting out against the Hokage and forcing the son of the Yondaime to stay here against his will, will only earn the ire of the villagers. The shinobi will not like it and our allies might even take offense," Inoichi said.

"We will lose more than we could possibly gain" Shikaku surmised.

"I surrender myself," Naruto said casually.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…What?" Koharu asked disbelievingly.

Naruto smirked. "I surrender myself," he repeated.

"You can't be serious, Naruto" Tsunade said.

"Oh, I'm serious. Putting up a fight at this point would be pointless. I know I can't defeat all of you, and I definitely can't escape the village even if I managed it. That aside though, I have no intentions of killing any one of you," the teen explained. "For the most part, the majority of you aren't bad people; you're just stuck on the unlucky end of the stick. I don't generally take to killing innocent people without a really good incentive, and I'm holding true to that moral code"

"So you'd prefer to be taken captive by the village, locked up until we have use of you as nothing more than a trained beast?" Tsume asked, her tone conveying her disgust at the thought.

Naruto's smirk immediately turned into a grin. Everyone was confused, but Tsunade was almost instantly on edge. The entire time that Naruto had been in the village, he had kept a mature coolness about him, an aura of calm and collectedness that she had mistaken for an emotional façade. She had assumed that his attitude was due to his life as a relatively well-known mercenary. Many in that profession became steeled and calculative with their emotions to avoid any excessive stress or guilt. But those same people were also notorious for making sick and twisted games out of bad situations, such as fights, or in this case, being cornered like an animal.

"Naruto… what have you done?" she asked hesitantly.

The boy continued to grin as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "Who here can tell me what this is?" he asked in a slightly goofy tone, displaying the seals printed on either side of the paper.

"It looks like an exploding tag, but the seal is wrong," Asuma answered.

"Yes and no" Naruto said. "This is an _Uzumaki_ exploding tag seal. I stumbled upon it once when I was experimenting with Fūinjutsu. It's highly volatile, extremely powerful, and comes in several variants. You've already seen the results of one version of this go off in the hospital, and it was a rather small one at that too. The one in my hand here is strong enough to take this floor of the building out in one go, all of us going with it"

"Oh, so it's a suicidal live or die sort of deal. That's interesting," Tsume said.

Naruto shook his head. "Not really. It's more of a hostage situation. You see, I had quite a bit of time to explore this village while I waited for Tsunade to finish conducting the tests on Tayuya. During my wandering around, I inscribed several of these on various items all around the village. Considering that this simple paper based tag can take out a good part of this building, and the power of these seals is directly proportional to the mass of the item they are inscribed on, would anyone like to hazard a guess as to how big of an explosion would come from a brick, or perhaps a tree"

Everyone paled slightly.

"You're bluffing. You have to be. Even you wouldn't go so far as to destroy your home village," Homura said nervously.

"Honestly, I wish this was a bluff. I already said I don't like killing innocents, and this village is full of them. Simple people going about their normal lives. Families, loved ones, men, women, children, none of whom deserve to die" Naruto said softly before levelling a cold stare on the rooms occupants. "But I can, and I will, kill all of them. And before you start calling me a monster, I have to remind you that this is of your own doing. You lured me here, you cornered me, backed me up against the wall with the intention of trapping me. As the old saying goes, 'an animal is most dangerous when it is cornered or wounded'"

The boy's words had everyone shiver. His cold uncaring tone was enough to convince them that he would definitely go through with it. The slaughtering of thousands didn't even seem to really bother him. Even Danzō was hesitant to attempt anything. A jinchuuriki was valuable, but not worth enough to jeopardise the strength and safety of the village. As soon as the reality of the situation sunk into everyone's head, they all calmed down considerably.

"So then… what is it you want?" Danzō asked.

"Honestly, there is nothing this village has that I want. Sure, I could demand a ridiculous sum of money, but I already have a good enough amount as it is. No point in having more than I need" he rambled thoughtfully. "What I really want, is to walk out of this village with no consequences, just as I did thirteen years ago"

The clan heads all looked at each other. "Deal" they said in unison.

"Hold on a minute" Koharu interjected. "Are we really going to allow our own jinchuuriki to hold this village at ransom and then let him walk out?"

"Yes, we are" Tsunade said sternly, glaring at the older woman. "This mess could have been completely avoided had you not been so convinced that Naruto was _our_ jinchuuriki. My sensei allowed him to be free of this village, and since that was a decision made by the Hokage at the time, then that means that in no way does Naruto belong to this village"

"But Tsunade, we need..." Homura tried to insist, but was cut off.

"Shut it! We do not _need_ him. You just want him to hold the Kyuubi over the other villages' heads. If we needed Naruto in any way, then it would have been far more practical to simply hire his services. At least then we wouldn't be at his mercy right now," the Hokage said in frustration.

"Well, since it's pretty much settled, I'll be taking my leave. But before I go, there is something I would like to ask the Akimichi clan head" the teen said.

Chōza looked up at him in surprise. "What would that be?"

"I would like to ask what you intend to do about your son's killer" Naruto said bluntly. "I can understand if you place a bounty on her head, or even come after her yourself, and while both outcomes would be… annoying, I won't try to stop it from happening"

The Akimichi sighed. "Take her. Do whatever you want with her. I don't care. Just keep her away from this village, and if possible, put her on a better path. I am still angry, but I cannot kill a child. I want nothing to do with her," he said softly.

Naruto nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Alright then. I'll be on my way now. This was fun; let's do it again sometime" he said, earning an amused snort from Tsume.

"What about the bombs?" Shibi asked. The man had been practically the only one to remain calm throughout the entire ordeal.

"They only activate to my chakra signature. The seals will decay completely within a week," the redhead answered. "But I wouldn't go looking for them if I were you. I didn't lie when I said they were volatile"

"Anyway, I have long since overstayed my welcome here. Maybe I'll be back at some point, hopefully under better circumstances," he said offhandedly, walking out of the meeting room and leaving everyone in a tense silence.

Tsume was the first to break the silence by chuckling to herself. "That kid has some serious balls to do that to us. Turned out better than I could have hoped. All the cunning and wit of his mother, mashed together with the coolness and tenacity of his father. Oh what I wouldn't do to get my hands on a man like that," she said, grinning in an almost hungry manner.

Tsunade groaned. "Tsume, now is not the time to show your interest in the boy that just held an entire village at ransom. And he is far too young for you"

"Hah! As if he could even keep up with me. But now that I think about it, Hana is around about the same age as him. He'd be a great son in law" the Inuzuka responded with a thoughtful smirk.

"I think that it should be transparently clear that Naruto is off limits to everyone in this village. That includes you three," Tsunade said, glaring at the elders and Danzō. "I don't need, nor want, another mass hostage situation. And, if anyone ever goes over my head and orchestrates something like that without my knowledge or permission again, they will be executed immediately. This is my village, and I am the Hokage. If I don't order it, it doesn't happen. Are we clear?"

The clan heads all nodded in understanding while the elders nodded begrudgingly.

"Good. Now, everyone get out. Any and all clan meetings are hereby postponed for the next two weeks minimum" the blonde's glare focussed intently on a single person in the room. "And for the love of god, Kakashi, stop reading that bloody book and at least act like you heard everything that just happened!"

The silver haired jonin looked up from his book curiously, having finally been distracted by the Hokage's mild killing intent. "Hmm? I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

Tsunade death stared him. "I don't even care anymore. Everyone get out"

Soon enough, everyone was gone, leaving only Tsunade and a stunned Shizune behind.

"Lady Tsunade, what are we going to do about this?" Shizune asked worriedly. "The elders are getting bolder in their actions. What happens if they go too far?"

The Hokage sighed deeply and pinched her nose. "The best we can do for now is wait and hope that they slip up. I can legally have them removed from any form of power once that happens. But I bet they'll be working extra carefully now" she said. "But I doubt that any illegal actions will be our major concern at the moment"

Shizune looked at the woman questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Naruto just held an entire hidden village hostage. That kind of thing doesn't go unnoticed. I'm sure that the elders and clan heads are already working to have his status in the bingo books raised to S-rank. And unfortunately, that is one thing I can't stop them from doing. It is the right of the people to know just how dangerous shinobi can be" Tsunade explained.

The Hokage faithful assistant pursed her lips. "He's going to be happy about it once he finds out, isn't he?" she asked disapprovingly.

Tsunade hung her head, her eyes becoming shadowed by her hair. "Most likely"

"Try most definitely"

Tsunade and Shizune nearly broke their necks with how fast they turned to look at the boy, who was once again sitting in his chair at the table, a smug smirk on his face.

"What the…? Why are you still here, Naruto?" Tsunade questioned.

The boy stood up and walked over to the Hokage, his hand digging into his pocket as he went. "Well, I remembered that I still owe you for keeping the toad off my back while I was here. None of my plans would have gone well if he was still here, so I guess I owe you more than I first thought," he said, handing the blonde a small rectangular box. "I've been a bit harsh to you while I've been here, so consider this my way of making up for that. Maybe one day we can actually get along a little better… maybe"

Tsunade took the box and looked at the boy oddly. "Uh, thank? I guess"

"See ya"

And just like that, he walked out again.

"What is it?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade looked down at the small box, the letters I.O.U clearly printed on it. "I'm not sure," she said, opening it slowly to reveal a small scroll and a note.

 _"If you need me, use this to send me a message. Good for two uses. Can be used for immediate help"_

The Hokage put the note down and opened the scroll. "Huh, a secondary toad summoning seal. That's surprising. I was almost hoping for a paint bomb. Kushina always had a tendency towards those things"

"But why would he give you that?" Shizune wondered aloud.

Tsunade smiled. "He probably knows something big is going to happen. He's aware of something that has yet to truly reach us…"

"…and he's offering his help"

* * *

 **A/N:**

So as it turns out, I'm on a bit of a roll with this story. Unfortunately, I really do need to go back to updating my other fic, so the next chapter of this story might be a short wait away. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I realize not much happened in it, but this is how the story needed to be set up. Next chapter guarantees the ever popular interactions between Naruto and Tayuya, so look forward to that.

As usual, reviews are greatly appreciated, however, after a particular individuals reviews on the previous chapter, I have to ask the no one simply comment several angry questions (Which I would have gladly answered had they not been posted anonymously) or any directly insulting things. I got a good laugh out of the persons attempts at being a hateful critic, but the review contained no constructive potential for me to work with so as to better my work. Being told to "grow the fuck up" is definitely going on my list of most useless things I have ever been told to do, right below being told not to stick a fork in a power outlet.

So yeah, please don't forget to review. The opinions of the readers is important after all.

In regards to the story itself, I have gone ahead and vaguely planned out a few things in my head, so nothing is on paper and could change at any moment. Suggestions and ideas are still being accepted. I have already received a request from one of you which I hope I can work into this in a way that will be pleasing. More requests are definitely welcomed.

Until next time guys.

Soul out!


	5. Forced Cooperation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

When Tayuya finally felt consciousness dripping back into her mind, it was followed almost vindictively by the sensation of agony. Whatever desire she might have had of waking up were immediately squashed beneath the near primal desire for deaths cold embrace, a certain path that led away from the pain. Unfortunately, pain was only one of the things she was forced to deal with it seemed.

For a moment, the redhead was almost overwhelmed by the flood of emotions, sensations, and thoughts that only now came forth with her waking. The pain was the only thing that stopped her from having an anxiety attack, it's pulsing constantly interrupting her thoughts, distracting her just enough from her other realisations to keep her grounded. But, a distraction only worked for so long, and soon Tayuya was forced to pay attention to her other senses, albeit at a slower pace.

Memories from before she had passed out flowed back into her mind. Fighting the fat kid, her arm getting crushed, killing the fat kid, and the agonising attempt she made at stumbling back to her master. Everything after that was a little foggy, but little by little, it was clearing up. Considering she was still alive, Tayuya figured that the outcome couldn't have been too bad. Maybe she did actually find her way back to Orochimaru after all.

Tayuya forced a hopeful and somehow cocky smile.

She knew she hadn't. It was stupid to think that she had made it all the way back to Otogakure in her condition. And if she really were back, then she would be too doped up on drugs to be waking up in pain. But she knew that she was somewhere, at someone's mercy. Somewhere not her home, and someone not her master. But most importantly, while also being aware of what was and what was not, she was also painfully aware of what was missing.

Tayuya tried to ignore it. She tried to drown it out, allowing other thoughts to cloud her mind until she couldn't even think straight, but to avail. She refused to look down, to catch even a glimpse of what was no longer there. It was a weakness that she simply couldn't acknowledge. A fact her pride wouldn't allow to exist within her mind. But she also knew it was one she would have to deal with at some point.

Forcing herself to sit up, she decided to live in denial a little while longer, opting to observe her surroundings like the trained and vigilant kunoichi she was. It was actually a little surprising. Her expectations had been that of a jail cell of some kind, or a hospital room outfitted with high security until she could be moved to the former. It was the best she could really hope for considering that she had killed a Konoha shinobi during the aided escape of another. With Konoha being the closest village she remembered herself being near, it stood to reason that she would have been found and taken there.

It appeared she was wrong. Her surroundings weren't of either a jail cell or hospital room. Instead, Tayuya found herself resting on a bed in what appeared to be a small hotel room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary or suspicious in any way, and she was extremely surprised to find that her belonging, minus the weaponry, had been neatly stacked atop or beside a new set of clothes at the end of her bed. That, however, led to her next observation… of her being mostly naked, save for a lot of bandages.

Tayuya didn't even blush at the fact, still forcing herself to not notice her body's condition for as long as possible. She simply continued to idly look around, soaking in every detail of the place, searching for any and all hints of a trap or trick, and listing off every item in the room that she could use should she need to kill someone. It wasn't until her eyes finally landed on the expensive looking katana laid out on a nearby table that reality truly began to sink in.

The memorised sensations that she had been all but forcing herself to feel vanished, replaced by the stinging pain that abruptly ended above her elbow. Biting her lip, she looked down; holding back tears as she softly clasped her right hand over the bandaged stump of her left arm. There was no denying it any longer. The arm was most definitely gone; severed clean off by the sword she had not moments ago laid eyes on.

Her memories continued to clear up, revealing her attacker and what he had done to her. But that only made her realise that he wasn't in the room with her. His sword was there, so he wouldn't be too far away, but he also wasn't close enough for her to pick up on his presence. Tayuya concluded that he had left her alone under the assumption that she wouldn't be waking up any time soon. She wasn't sure if it was carelessness or stupidity on his part, but it was an opportunity for her.

Standing up on wobbly legs, Tayuya dressed herself in the provided clothes. A long and frustrating ordeal as she adjusted ever so slowly to having only one arm. She was surprised as she inspected her wounds, many of which were fully healed already. Aside from the blatantly obvious missing arm, the only real sign of her injuries came in the form of a moderate sized scar on her side from the wind jutsu. Either her captor was a really efficient and somewhat resourceful medic, or he had taken her to a hospital somewhere to make sure she was healed properly.

The clothes themselves were, thankfully, not anything girly. The outfit consisted of a baggy grey shirt and black pants, making it obvious that her captor had a mind set for practicality over presentation. Had this been any other situation, she might have actually gotten along with the guy. He had been rather blunt and straight to the point upon his initial questioning of her, as far as she could recall, and while losing her arm pissed her off, she could definitely respect him for dealing with the issue so quickly and efficiently.

If she wasn't so dead set on finding her way back to Orochimaru, then Tayuya would have been tempted to ask if the guy wanted to join Otogakure.

She scoffed a little at that thought. He had been asking specifically for Orochimaru in the first place, which was clearly a bad sign. Very few people ever asked about Orochimaru, and those that did were more or less after something, usually the Sannin's bounty. Not that Tayuya thought her master was under any immediate threat; it was just that walking back to the village with an enemy wasn't a good way of getting any mercy.

Collecting her possessions, she went to leave, only to stop suddenly as she realised she was completely unarmed, pun not intended. The sword on the table was an option, but it would be a pain, and she was, unfortunately, too short for its length. Walking into the kitchen area, she searched the draws until she found a small well-sharpened knife. Giving a careless shrug, she figured it was better than nothing and carefully tucked it away into one of her pockets.

Walking to the door, she opened it, only to come face to face with the red haired boy that had cut off her arm. Without hesitating, Tayuya dug her hand into her pocket hazardously, slicing her hand in on the knife in the process, before pulling it out and lashing at the boy with a stabbing motion. He caught her wrist effortlessly and proceed to twist her arm up and behind her back, removing the blade from her hand as he went.

"Let go of me, you fucking asshole!"

"As glad as I am to see that you're finally awake, I'm not exactly interested in having you try to kill me again," Naruto said in a bored tone. "Being stabbed once already as a result of you is quite enough excitement for me to deal with"

Tayuya snarled. "What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"Nothing of importance" he replied casually. "But since you're awake, there are a few things I wouldn't mind talking about with you. Your master's location for one"

"Go fuck yourself! There's nothing you can do to make me rat out Orochimaru to you!" she spat angrily, trying futilely to wriggle out of his grip. "And even if I did, he'd tear you apart like you were nothing. You don't stand a chance against him"

Naruto pushed her forward and let go of her arm, hooking his foot to her ankle and causing her to tumble to the floor. Closing the door behind him, he walked straight past Tayuya and placed the now bloody knife on the sink bench before turning back to the confused girl.

"If I wanted to kill Orochimaru, I would have already tortured you for the information. I also wouldn't have gone through the effort of getting you healed to such an extent. I would have only needed you to be conscious, which I could have done in a much more unpleasant manner," he explained. "That being said, I chose to go through the irritating process of having you healed by the Hokage of Konoha herself. You should consider yourself lucky that she even did so, instead of killing you on sight"

Tayuya growled. "So what? You want me to be grateful towards that old hag?"

He shook his head. "No" he answered simply. "I personally don't care what you think of it; so long as you don't take it for granted"- he pointed at her bleeding hand -"Not thinking things through in your current condition is a good way of getting hurt, as you have already found out. I didn't go through so much trouble just for you to go and get yourself killed"

The girl stood up and glared at him. "You know what? I don't give a flying fuck how much trouble I caused you. The more the better, actually" she said angrily. "Because in case you had somehow forgotten, you cut my fucking arm off, you psycho piece of shit!"

Naruto simply stared back her questioningly. "Would you rather I had left it? You didn't even have the strength to tourniquet it properly. You would have died from blood loss, or worse, it could have gotten infected. Do you have any idea how agonising of a death you would suffer if that happened?"

"Oh? And I suppose you do?"

"Obviously not. I'm still alive. But I have seen someone go through it. Very unpleasant" he said. "I would rather not have to hear screaming like that again if I could help it"

The two remained silent after that comment. Tayuya continued to glare defiantly at Naruto while he continued to watch her with absolutely no sense of urgency. It wasn't until Tayuya finally fell to her knees panting that Naruto decided to do anything. Walking up to her, he lifted her up by her one arm and guided her to the bed, much to her ire. Sitting her down, he pulled out his now bloodstained orange shirt and tore a strip off of it before wrapping it tightly around her hand.

Pulling a chair up beside the bed, he sat down and sighed deeply. "I think you and me have gotten off on the wrong foot here," he said unsurely. "I'm also aware that I don't often make good first impressions. I don't expect forgiveness, but I do expect some sort of cooperation on your part. The first thing you can do towards that is to not push yourself anymore. You were in a medically induced coma when I smuggled you out of Konoha, so it's stupid to think that you would be okay to do, well, pretty much anything"

Tayuya winced, pain still throbbing through her body. "I already told you, you idiot. I'm not ratting out Orochimaru"

"I don't need you to rat him out to me. I need you to set up a meeting with him for me," Naruto said, earning a surprised look from the girl. "Killing Orochimaru, at this point, would be… a hindrance. So, I only want to talk to him. Since you aren't capable of safely getting yourself back to him alone, and I have a few questions to ask him, I propose that we 'team up' for a short time, at least until we both get what we want"

"Heh, and why the hell should I even trust you?"

Naruto smirked slightly. "Because you don't have any other option. Even that curse seal on your neck won't help you. The strain such a crude construct would put on your body would kill you in your state," he explained. "I, however, am perfectly capable of tracking down Orochimaru by myself, if given enough time. But time is not something I have, not anymore. Hence I went and collected one of his subordinates to help speed things along"

Tayuya narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he was right, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he had set up and planned everything out for this exact moment. If he was telling the truth about the Hokage, Tsunade of the Sannin, being the one to heal her injuries, then it wasn't coincidence that Tayuya was only just healed enough to be awake and moving. Tsunade was considered legendary in the medical field for a reason, so a partial healing of this accuracy had to be premeditated, calculated, and pulled off perfectly. Taking into account his comment about smuggling her out of the village, Tayuya could only assume that he had managed to do it all without Tsunade herself even being aware.

She stared into his cold blue eyes, almost seeing the calculated accuracy in which he was observing her every action, right down to her slightly laboured breathing. The boy was dangerous, that much was clear, but she just couldn't gauge as to what extent. Tayuya couldn't even begin to guess as to how many steps ahead of her he was. Hell, she didn't even know how long he had to plan it all while she was asleep.

He had made sure she had no other choice in the matter. Even if she tried to run and manage on her own, it was more than likely that he would just resort to extracting the information out of her forcefully. In a way, Tayuya respected him for it all. It wasn't every day that she meant someone with the tenacity and cunningness to get what they wanted no matter the requirements. It reminded her a little of Orochimaru actually.

"What kind of questions?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"That… is not for you to know," Naruto said sternly. "If you don't trust me not to make an attempt on your master's life, then please, feel free to send a message ahead warning him. The element of surprise is not exactly something I need to use against him, and it would be best if he knew my intentions beforehand anyway"

Tayuya stared at with wide eyes. "You really planned everything out, didn't you?"

Naruto shrugged. "I think so. But I had a lot of spare time while I waited for you"

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"Four days"

The girl froze. "Four days? Four fucking days? What the fuck! But that means… that means that you… you had to change… and clean… and you saw… oh god…" she sputtered and stuttered as her face slowly but surely twisted into an expression of horror.

Naruto chuckled. "No need to be so embarrassed about it," he said, standing up and extending his hand out to her. "Come on. If you intend on staying awake any longer, then we are going to need to get some food into you. Not eating for a week has bad effects"

Tayuya glared at him and backed away. "You keep your fucking hands away from me, pervert!" she spat. "I hope you made the most of eyeing me up when you had the chance, because I promise you that it won't happen again! And I swear, if I even _think_ that you took advantage of me while I was out, I will force feed you your own dick!"

"That's… drastic" Naruto said, cringing at the thought. "But fair, I suppose"

Her eye twitched. "Could you, you know, stop being so casual about everything. I just threatened you. Get a little defensive at least," she said irritably.

"Hmm, maybe if I thought you could actually go through with the threat, then I would be a little more concerned. But in your condition, you'd be lucky to hold your own against a genin" he said. "Anyway, if you're hungry, follow me. I'll buy you some food, but I'm not bringing any back with me, so you'd better make up your mind"

"How do you know I won't just run off while you're gone?"

Naruto looked down at her lazily. "You have no money, you have no weapons, you're crippled, and once I tracked you down, I would kill you," he said monotonously. "If that isn't enough incentive for you to stay here, then you're clearly not smart enough to keep around. That and I doubt you'd get very far on an empty stomach"

Tayuya shuddered under his gaze. Deciding that death wasn't something she was quite ready for, she stood up shakily and followed him out of the hotel room. She was a little surprised to find that they were residing in a small village located in the land of fire. It was obviously not a well-known or regularly visited one either. Discretion would be vital, if the story of being smuggled out of Konoha was true that is. There was also the fact that Tayuya didn't recognise it. She had gone on at least one mission to each of the 'important' villages and towns throughout several countries, and this one wasn't one of them.

She followed the boy to a nearby restaurant. They were quickly seated at a table near the back and the boy was even quicker to ignore her in favour of a small blank covered book he had pulled out of the pouch around his waist. Tayuya didn't care much about being treated rudely; in fact, it was somewhat of a regular thing in Otogakure, or just anywhere with those that followed Orochimaru. What she did care about, was finding out just who it was that had managed to put her in the humiliating position of being captured, and then forcing her to rely on said captor.

Something about him seemed familiar, but she needed a name to go with the face before she jumped to any conclusions.

"So, d'ya mind telling me just who the hell you are?" she asked.

Naruto didn't look from his book as he flipped casually through the pages. "Does who I am mean anything to you?" he asked coolly.

She snarled at him. "Maybe it does. But for now, I just want to know the name of the guy that perved on me for four days so I can add your name to the list of people I'm gunna kill one day"

"My name is Naruto" he replied simply, still not bothering to look up at her. "And if you do intend on killing me, then please take a number. Evidently, there is an ever growing line of people after my head… among other body parts"

"What kind of a name is that? Did your parents hate you, or did they just really like ramen?"

Naruto snickered. "That second guess probably had something to do with it. But, if you don't mind, I'd rather you didn't make fun of my name"

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Pfft, as if that's going to happen, ramen boy" she said, smirking smugly. "So, is it just Naruto, or are you one of them fancy fucks with an actual clan name as well?"

"I already regret ever talking to you," Naruto drawled. "But if you must know, yes, I do have a clan name. Two technically"

"Oh, brilliant. I'm stuck with a pompous prick with two clan names. Just my bloody luck"

"If you still want any food, I'd advise you stop trying to antagonise me," Naruto warned.

The girl pursed her lips thoughtfully, tapping her finger on the table at a rapid pace. "You know, the way you speak reminds me of someone I know. He's a bit of a pompous prick too, actually. Fancy clan name and all. Maybe I should introduce you two. You'd make a cute gay couple"

Naruto sighed deeply and closed the book he was reading. Placing it down on the table, he stared tiredly at the girl. "What do you want, Tayuya?"

"Well, first, I want to know how you know who I am" she said.

He tapped on the book. "Bingo book entry. You have a moderately interesting profile, and you're clearly listed as a subordinate of Orochimaru's. Unfortunately, your bounty is relatively low, so killing you before you managed to amass any further notoriety would be pointless"

"Shit. A fucking bookworm too" Tayuya muttered. "Wanna point out any other annoying traits you have before I discover them and subsequently wish for death?"

"I might occasionally whisper 'believe it' in an ominous tone should you ever decide to state the obvious" he said with a straight face.

Tayuya looked at him in horror. "You're joking, right?"

He chuckled. "Maybe. But it's not really important right now. You should order something to eat. I'm not sure how long we will be waiting here for, so I'd make the most of it"

"What's that supposed to mean? Are we waiting for someone?" she asked.

"You could say that. I am expecting someone to show up, but I can't say that they are expecting me to be here," Naruto answered vaguely. "Just a little errand I need to take care of in this village before we can be on our way"

"So, not only are you holding me hostage and forcing me to take you to meet Orochimaru, but you're also dragging me along on your stupid little odd jobs" Tayuya grumbled.

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, completely ignoring everything. Tayuya held back her desire to dive over the table and punch him in the throat. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was stuck with him for the moment, and getting tortured or killed was never good. Ordering a simple meal of barbequed meat and rice, she waited patiently for it to be served, using the time to observe her captor in a little more detail.

He was rather unimpressive overall. He wasn't extremely tall and not overly muscular either. He was, physically speaking, the run of the mill kinda guy. The red hair was the only thing that really set him apart, and judging by the fact that it was beginning to grow out into what looked like a bright blond colour, Tayuya surmised that he had dyed it. He was lanky if anything, and had terrible fashion sense considering he was parading around in black pants and a dark orange shirt.

Tayuya didn't get any more time to dissect and judge Naruto's appearance any further as her food quickly arrived. Fumbling to break apart the chopsticks, she went through the gruelling process of trying to actually use them with her right hand, mentally cursing the fact that she was primarily left handed… well, at least she had been. Now it seemed she would be forced to manage with her right hand only, until she got back to Orochimaru that was. Tayuya was still rather hopeful that he could fix it somehow.

After several failed attempts at using the chopsticks, Tayuya growled angrily and dropped them to the table before simply glaring at her food.

"Would you like some help?" Naruto asked curiously, cracking an eye open at her.

"If you so much as try to help, I will break your wrist," she said warningly.

A few tense moments passed before the girl resorted to eating it with her hands, uncaring of the displeased looks she earned from others in the restaurant. Naruto smirked at the act, but didn't say anything about it. No one else spoke up about it either, although that was more due to no one wanting to cause trouble with a crippled girl. After helping herself to seconds, and even thirds, Tayuya finally let out a satisfied sigh, wiping her now grubby hand on her shirt.

"I hope you enjoyed that," Naruto said. "This place isn't exactly the cheapest"

Tayuya snorted in amusement. "You probably should have thought of that before bringing a partially starved girl to eat her fill, you dickhead"

"You aren't going to stop with the insulting name calling, are you?"

"Eh, until I find one that fits you perfectly, not likely. Think of it as an honour. I usually only do this for people who I know I'm going to have to put up with for a long time"

He grunted. "Yeah, I'm really flattered" he drawled. "Let's go. I don't think the person I'm looking for is going to show up today"

Picking up his book and putting it back into his pouch, he stood up and held his hand out to Tayuya to help her up. She swatted it away and stood up by herself, taking a hasty lead as they walked out of the establishment. Tayuya didn't think twice before harshly shoving a large man out of the doorway until he retaliated, grabbing her by her hair and throwing her to the ground.

"Watch where you're walking, bitch!" he yelled.

Tayuya spat at the man. "How about not blocking the whole doorway with your fat fucking head!" she shouted back.

The man went to kick her, only to freeze in place. Breaking into a cold sweat, he looked up fearfully at Naruto and backed away slowly. Naruto eased off on the killing intent he was directing at the man and looked down disappointedly at Tayuya.

"I hope you don't make a habit of picking fights with strangers. Next time I might not be nice enough to step in" he said.

"Maybe you wouldn't need to if you hadn't cut off my arm! Ever think about that, you fuck?" she retorted. "So, if you still want me to guide you to Orochimaru, then I suggest you get used to the bodyguard position, because I'm not changing my attitude to accommodate for you being a pussy. Now knock this asshole to the ground"

Naruto glared at her. "Don't order me around" he said, directing a small amount of killing intent at her. Looking back up at the man, he quirked an eyebrow before pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. Glancing back and forth between the paper and the man, Naruto finally settled his gaze on the man, turning the paper around to show a wanted poster with a similar looking man's picture on it, albeit a bit skinner than the one standing in front of him. "Is this you?"

The man immediately forgot about his fear and snarled at the boy. "So what if it is? You here to try and take me in or something? Hah, good luck with that, brat. You're several years too young, and a bit too puny to try and take someone like me on. Come back when you know what you're doing"

Folding the piece of paper back up, Naruto put it back in his pocket and smiled cheerfully at the man.

"I don't do 'take ins', so I wouldn't worry about me trying to take you to justice," he said casually. "But, if I hope to get paid, then I'm required to at least serve you some sort of punishment. So, I propose we play a game"

The man gave him a filthy look. "What the hell are you trying to pull here kid? I'll be nice and let you and your girlfriend walk away, but if you keep trying to pull the tough guy act then I'll be forced to teach you a lesson"

His words went completely ignored by Naruto. "You pick a number between one and five, and so long as you don't scream, I'll let you walk away with your life," he said, his otherwise warm smile no longer appearing cheerful for the right reasons. "But, if you do scream, then you lose. Also, if you don't choose a number, then you lose anyway"

The man smiled cockily, directing his rather abysmal killing intent at the teen. "One" he said. "Go ahead, kid. Try something funny. Let's see where it gets you"

Naruto took a step towards him. The man threw a sloppy punch at the teen, only for his arm to be caught at the wrist effortlessly. Naruto gripped the man's wrist tightly and straightened out the arm. With a quick jab to the elbow, he snapped the limb at the joint, a disgusting popping sound resonating from the now obliterated joint. Tayuya watched on with wide eyes as a few of the other restaurant diners made a hasty retreat away from the violence.

At first, the man didn't scream, he simply looked at the broken limb in shock. Eventually though, the pain made itself known and he collapsed to his knees, screaming loudly as he did and gripping tightly at his arm. Naruto's smile fell as he moved himself in front of him.

"That's one strike," he said. "But you screamed, so you lose"

Without hesitation, Naruto reached out and twisted the man's head, snapping his neck and killing him instantly. Some of those watching the scene screamed and fled the restaurant, a panic quickly rising in the small village. Naruto ignored the ensuing chaos his actions caused, sealing away the corpse of his victim.

Tucking the scroll away, he turned to a still dumbfounded Tayuya. "We should probably leave. I'm not exactly good at dealing with the aftermath of collecting my targets," he said casually.

Tayuya gawked at him. "What. The. Fuck. Why'd you do that?" she asked in surprise. "I thought we would want to keep a low profile. I told you to knock his ass to the ground. Why the hell'd you kill him?"

Naruto pulled out the small wanted poster. "He was charged with numerous rapes and three murders. The village that it happened in turned a blind eye because he had connections to several influential people in higher places. The women though, they managed to scrounge together enough money to offer a reasonable price on his head" he explained.

"Hold up. You mean to tell me that you dragged me here, in a fucking coma, because you got offered a little pocket money from some whores?" Tayuya asked heatedly. "You said you smuggled me out of Konoha. Doesn't that warrant a little bloody discretion?!"

"Please don't speak rudely of paying customers. It doesn't do well for my reputation," he said flippantly. "As for discretion; Konoha wouldn't dare to try anything for another three days, minimum, unless they're really stupid. I have little care about how this town sees me, so that's not a problem either. And I would barely call the payment 'pocket money'. I'm only accepting half of their offer, and it's not even a D-rank pay"

"That doesn't make me feel any fucking better! You wanker!" she yelled angrily, getting to her feet and glaring at him. "At least make me feel like keeping me safe is _somewhere_ on your list of priorities!"

Naruto looked down at her coldly. "Keeping you _alive_ is a priority. Your safety isn't of any real significance unless it could potentially kill you. I thought that was made clear when I cut off your arm"

Tayuya grit her teeth. "Listen here you prick. If you want me to lead you to Orochimaru, then you had better start seeing me as more than some little compass to use. If I get hurt, I'll be inclined to lead your sorry ass off a cliff. So how about proving that you're worth even taking to my master"

"Would you expect me to treat you like a princess?" he asked irritably.

"Hah! A princess? Nice try. You're gunna have to do a little better than that"

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I'm not doing this right now. When you wake up, I expect you to have a better attitude"

"Wake up?"

Tayuya didn't get a chance to react as she felt the tell-tale signs of a Genjutsu invading her mind. She tried to counter it, but she was overwhelmed. She knew it was a powerful Genjutsu, one that even her already abundant pain couldn't immediately break, but she couldn't believe how much she had underestimated it. The foreign chakra pierced into her own, overpowering her. Everything became fuzzy and her body heavy as the world spun.

 _'A fucking sleeping Genjutsu!'_ she screamed mentally.

"You cunt" Tayuya spat, falling to the ground unconscious.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Keep calm. Don't kill her. You need her. Just a little longer and it'll be all over," he chanted, glancing down at her and cringing. "Ugh, who am I kidding? She's going to drive me insane. This was a terrible idea"

Picking the girl up on his shoulder, he began walking back to the hotel room. Discretion or not, it was never a wise move to leave traces behind.

"I can only hope that Orochimaru is a bit more tolerable," he grumbled. "God forbid I'm forced to deal with any more… annoyances"

Naruto knew that time was running out. Preparations needed to made, alliances forged, enemies properly positioned. Everything needed to be ready. The elemental nations couldn't afford to be in such disarray, not now. Too many villages hung on the edge of war, all too eager to fight the wrong enemy.

If they refused to band together, then they would be crushed.

After all… what were any of them to a god.

* * *

 **A/N:**

It seems I couldn't help myself. As of now, this story is taking slightly more precedence over my other one. Hopefully in my haste and enjoyment I haven't done anything bad in this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it. As you can all see, Tayuya is finally a part of everything. I've also given a little hint to you all as to the 'bigger threat' facing everything, which will be delved into ever so slightly more in the next chapter. Speaking of the next chapter, there will be much more fun with Tayuya, along with Orochimaru.

Reviews are going good so far, considering this is still a rather short and young fic, so please keep them coming. Oddly enough, they really do help with the motivation of writing.

In regards to update scheduling, I still got nothing, but I hope to have a new chapter out every so often since they aren't usually too long. That being said, I reserve the right to take breaks.

Till next time guys.

Don't forget to review.

Soul out!


	6. Buying New Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto tried to ignore the infuriated glare directed at him. He was managing to do so, for the most part, but the glarer deserved credit for dedication. It had been a few hours now since she had woken up and not once did the glare falter. It was almost inspiring to see someone so incredibly invested in their anger towards someone over something so incredibly petty. Actually, Naruto still wasn't entirely sure what it was that she was angry with him over. The list to choose from was a little too long for him to care about at this point, but curiosity was going to get the better of him eventually.

"What is it?" he asked calmly, breaking the tense silence.

Tayuya narrowed her eyes. "What's what?"

"What have I done to piss you off so much?" Naruto elaborated.

"I'm pretty damn sure that I can't pick a single reason at this point" she spat venomously. "You've fucked with my life in so many ways already, now I'm just counting all the ways you've yet to fuck with it"

Naruto remained silent, contemplating several unimportant things in his boredom. He had quickly determined that carrying Tayuya around was a bad idea earlier in the day, which led to their current situation. They were sitting in a small clearing, each on the opposite side of a fire due to Tayuya's insistence on staying well out of his reach. As it were, neither were any fonder of the other than they had been upon her original waking, and it definitely didn't look like that was going to get any better.

Especially not when Naruto continued to ignore Tayuya at every moment he got.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

He looked at her lazily over the flames. "Your yelling makes it difficult, but I am trying not to listen to you"

Tayuya ground her teeth. "I'm going to castrate you"

"Do you want to hold onto your other hand?" he asked warningly.

Naruto watched as she averted her gaze and went about mumbling curses and threats, his name making a few notable appearances among the incomprehensible mess. He felt ever so slightly guilty for his threat towards her, but he needed something to hold over her head. God help him if she gave up and became suicidal. She'd become impossible to control.

Eventually, after a while of tense silence, Naruto went to sleep. He didn't say anything, no warning whatsoever before simply leaving Tayuya alone with her own thoughts. The redhead in question was angered by the action, but refrained from acting out. He was all she had for protection on her way back to her master, so she'd be stupid to do anything. She had pushed things a bit far when she demanded better treatment, and she had paid for it, a headache still at the forefront of her mind. While not a preferential method, this was at least a safe way of getting home.

It took a while, but eventually, Tayuya herself drifted off to sleep, if she could call it that. The pain ensured that she was never completely out for longer than ten minutes at a time, leaving her with a half-assed and fragmented nights rest. Sunrise came in what felt like mere minutes, and with it came the waking of ramen boy, who was the proud receiver of her tired and bloodshot glare.

"Did you sleep at all?"

Tayuya deadpanned at him. "Don't ask stupid questions, moron"

Naruto pursed his lips. "In spite of the pain, exhaustion, and sleep deprivation, you still hold true to the name calling. I'd commend you on being so dedicated, but it's starting to get annoying"

"Well, thank fuck for that. I was beginning to think you were a brick" she replied. "Now, please tell me you at least have some sort of rations with you. I'm gunna need to eat something soon"

"Ask nicely," Naruto said, a light smirk tugging at his lips.

Tayuya held back a sneer. "Do you have any food?" she asked softly.

The boy seemed to accept it. "I do," he answered simply.

"Can I have some?"

"Hmm, I suppose" Naruto said, pulling a small scroll out of his pocket. He held it out to her, only to pull it back as she reached for it. "If you say please," he added.

Tayuya recoiled at that. Her eyes widened into a shocked and estranged form of glare as her mouth opened slightly to create a truly unique expression of angry disbelief. "You aren't serious… are you?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked innocently.

"You… you're really going to make me grovel for food?" Tayuya asked.

Naruto smiled. "It is not grovelling. It's basic manners and politeness" he said. "But, to answer your question, yes. You need to say please to get any food. Unless you plan on catching some for yourself"

The girl shuddered. Forcing down her ever-growing desire to punch Naruto's face in, she took a deep breath. "Can I have some food… please?" she asked, the final word barely above a whisper.

"Naruto" he said.

"What?"

"Can I have some food please, Naruto?" he said, looking at her expectantly, a now complete smirk adding to his smug expression.

Tayuya placed her hand on her stomach, debating internally if her desire for food was worth giving up some of her pride. She knew she could last quite some time without food, but that was in normal conditions. In her current state, it wasn't safe to estimate how much nutrients she could go without. Too long without food and she could potentially put herself back into a coma. Whatever drugs had been keeping her going beforehand were definitely out of her system by now, and judging from the pain in her gut, she was much hungrier than she would like to be.

Digging her nails into her palm, Tayuya swallowed her pride. Turning to Naruto, she went to spew out the well-mannered request as fast as she could, hoping to get it all over with quickly. But she was met with him holding a steaming bowl of ramen out to her, leaving her surprised and unsure of how to continue.

"You can take it," Naruto said, allowing her to warily take the food. "You gapped out for a while, had me a little bit worried. If saying please was such a big issue then you should have just said something. No point in you melting your brain with an internal struggle. I still need you around after all"

"How long was I out?" Tayuya asked.

Naruto shrugged. "A few minutes. I wouldn't worry about it unless it becomes a common occurrence"

Tayuya made a mental note to have Orochimaru check it out if it became persistent. Carefully placing the bowl of ramen on her lap, she went about the gruelling process of once again trying to use chopsticks with her right hand. Unfortunately, hot ramen was not something she could just forgo the utensils with. The cut on her hand also wasn't helping matters. It had already begun to scab, and with the bandage wrapped tightly around her hand, the movements needed to properly use chopsticks were more or less impossible.

Thankfully, Naruto was too distracted by his own food to worry about her this time. Tayuya wasn't willing to have him offer his help with something that should have been trivial, not again. She opted instead to watch him out of the corner of her eye. That proved to be a mistake. Whatever appetite she might have had was cast aside as she watched Naruto devour an unhealthy amount of ramen. His name was one thing, but his apparent fondness of the food was ridiculous. After the seventh or so bowl of ramen, Naruto finally took notice of the girls stare, returning it out of curiosity.

"Need help?" he asked, looking pointedly at her untouched serving.

She ignored the question. "What kind of freak are you?" she asked. "Please don't tell me that you eat like that frequently"

Naruto quirked his head. "What is that to you? I like to get my fill every once and a while. Does that bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me! If that's how much you eat, then why the hell aren't you fat, or at least chubby?" she demanded.

"I exercise. Oddly enough, it is common practice for shinobi. But I do have a fast metabolism" Naruto replied coolly. "But if you are referring to the ramen, then you should know that I do not frequently indulge in it. That bad habit was beaten out of me rather quickly many years ago"

Tayuya pouted childishly. "You bloody freaks and your fast metabolisms. Fuck all of you," she muttered.

Naruto chuckled. "Anyway, do you need help eating the ramen?" he asked again.

The girl froze, her eyes staring at the ground in expressionless horror. The hunger that had plagued her earlier came back full force, her stomach audibly growling at her for taking so much time. She knew she needed to eat, and the ramen smelt pretty damn good. But her hand left her with only two viable options. Either she could use the bowl like a cup and simply drink its contents in a rather difficult and unflattering display of her self-reliability, or she could take Naruto up on his offer and get fed like a dumb child.

Naturally, the first option was somewhat more likely, but also the least likely to work out well for her.

She hung her head in shame. "Yes" she whispered softly.

"Yes what?" Naruto asked expectantly, a mischievous smirk once again on his smug face.

Tayuya looked at him, her eyes conveying both rage and a desperate pleading, a true abomination of conflicting emotions.

Naruto smiled softly. "Alright, I'll give you a break. Good progress though. Already said a please within a day of meeting me. The last guy I tried to teach manners to took an entire week," he said.

Moving to sit in front of Tayuya, he picked the bowl up from her lap and the chopsticks from her hand. Scooping up some of the noodles, he held them out to her. Tayuya hesitated for a moment, catching a glimpse of what she perceived to be internal confliction in the boys eyes. She gathered that this wasn't the first time he had fed someone, and doing so for her obviously brought back some bad memories. Still, she could be wrong and he might just hate how time consuming she was being to his cause. If she was right though, then it was an interesting little titbit of information she had on him.

Her hesitation didn't last long, hunger being the more dominant force. Naruto did his best to remain completely emotionless as Tayuya went about slurping up the mouthfuls of ramen, but it was putting his resolve to the limits. Attempting to distract himself from the comical sight, he asked questions between mouthfuls.

"How long will it take us to reach Orochimaru from here?" he asked.

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "That would be easy to tell, if I knew where _here_ even was," she said. "I was knocked out when you brought us here, remember?"

"Huh, didn't remember that actually" Naruto said offhandedly, earning another glare from Tayuya. "Well, I figured that since that Uchiha kid was heading past the valley of the end, that'd be a good starting point, so I started going back there. We're around about three miles east of it right now"

Tayuya nodded. That was a good spot to start. At least he had the sense to head in the right general direction instead of making them start somewhere stupid, like near any of the southern or western borders of fire country. That'd leave a long journey, and she'd go mad during that long travelling with him.

"Alright, good. We aren't that far then. A few hours if we move fast enough" she said.

"We're walking" Naruto said simply.

"What!" she exclaimed. "Why the hell are we walking? That makes it more than a day long travel!"

Naruto pointed at her with the chopsticks. "You are not allowed to exert yourself"

"Fuck off! You're not a doctor. I'll do whatever I feel like"

"The only way we are moving any faster than what I deem safe for you is if I carry you," Naruto explained casually. "Considering things so far, I doubt you would allow that, hence the walking"

The girl's eye twitched. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a fuck head?"

"You're the first, surprisingly," he said in amusement. "Now hurry up and eat. The sooner we get moving, the less time you have to suffer with me"

Tayuya glowered at him. "Agreed" she said, hastily returning to the humiliation of being fed by him.

A day wasn't that long anyway, and it only gave her more time to think about how to get her revenge and gather as much dirt on him as she could. She could persevere, and she would. And soon enough, she'd have the last laugh.

* * *

Tsunade tapper her finger impatiently on her desk. It had been a few days since Naruto's stunt with the village and the repercussion were surprisingly minimal, but that didn't stop a select few from stomping away at her last nerves. Most of the council, meaning the clan heads, were rather content with letting Naruto run off. It was the elders that she had to deal with now, along with the surprise return of her teammate.

"What the hell do you lot want now?" she asked.

Koharu huffed smugly. "You should have listened to us, Tsunade. As Hokage, it is your responsibility to head the advice of the council, and yet you completely ignored us. Now we have yet another rogue shinobi from our village"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Naruto is not, nor has he ever been, a registered shinobi; not of this village, or any other village. We lay no claim to him, and we have no right to do so anyway. Instead of grasping at old or useless straws, why not try coming to me with real issues or advice. So far the only things I've heard from any of you is demands, complaints, and an excessive amount of referencing outdated customs that have absolutely no value to me"

The elders, Danzō included, held their tongues at that comment.

"Be that as it may, the jinchuuriki is a vital concern right now," Homura stated. "With this Akatsuki showing an apparent interest in the containers of the Bijuu, it is obviously a wise choice to arm ourselves with as many as we can obtain. Whatever their intentions are with the creatures, it cannot bode well for anyone else. Surely your emotional attachment to the boy warrants you to act against his will for his own safety"

"Don't be a fool" Jiraiya said from his spot behind Tsunade. "Stealing any jinchuuriki from another village is likely to start another shinobi war. If Akatsuki really are a threat of such magnitude, then we can't go around making distractions for them to hide behind. As for Naruto, I would sooner kill him myself than let you three use him. Talk about keeping him safe all you want, but I know damn well that you just want a weapon"

"Need" Danzō said sternly. "Wanting a weapon is folly. We do not want the jinchuuriki, we need it"

"Keep referring to my godson as an 'it' and I'll show you personally what a living weapon can do," the Sannin growled. "Konoha is strong enough as it is"

"Jiraiya makes a good point. There is no need for a jinchuuriki," the Hokage said. "Now, I hope you have come here for something else. My patience only goes so far"

"Danzō has discovered one of the explosive seals the jinchuuriki threatened the village with" Koharu revealed. "It is complex, but unmistakably Uzumaki in nature. We could not decipher its inner working or true potential, so we brought it to you. With Jiraiya here for the moment, we thought he could look at it"

Tsunade grit her teeth. "You idiots actually looked for the seals? Naruto warned us not to disturb them lest they detonate, and you risked it?"

"It was a necessary risk. The potential of being put in a similar situation is too high. We must learn as much as we can from this to avoid such things in the future," Danzō said.

"Whatever. Where's the seal?" she demanded.

The old war hawk carefully pulled out a small piece of rectangular wood and placed it on the Hokage's desk. Tsunade recognised it as the number plate that many hotels always attached to the room keys, this one having been the room she had rented for Naruto while he was here. Jiraiya wasted little time in observing the seal placed upon it, a grin slowly growing across his face as he did so.

"The brat has skill, I'll give him that," the toad sage said. "I haven't seen seals like this since Kushina and Minato started collaborating their work"

"So you can tell us what it is?" Tsunade asked.

"No need to, it's exactly what Naruto said it was. An exploding seal" the man answered. "Unfortunately, that's the best I can decipher. Seems the kid has a seal melded within this one that makes it practically impossible to completely pull apart. Trade mark of the Uzumaki clan I imagine. It's how they kept other villages from stealing their Fūinjutsu techniques. Judging by what I can make out though, as well as taking the items mass into account, this one alone could take out most of this building. He really wasn't bluffing, or even prepared to pull his punch"

"So duplication is impossible then?" Danzō inquired.

"Not that I would dare to let the work of a Fūinjutsu master be stolen by the likes of you. But no, it can't be duplicated" Jiraiya said. "Only Naruto or another Fūinjutsu master at his level could even risk forging this seal again without it blowing up in their face"

"Are you trying to tell us that the jinchuuriki has surpassed you in the art of Fūinjutsu?" Homura asked.

Jiraiya scoffed. "It's more complicated than that. Fūinjutsu doesn't work like the other shinobi arts. Skill level means very little when compared to style. My style of Fūinjutsu is specific, learned and perfected from the Sandaime, who in turn learnt it from the Shodai. No matter how good I might be at it, it would never compare to the complete mastery that the Uzumaki developed over style. Their style is unique, and unmatched to date. However Naruto learned Fūinjutsu, it clearly has Uzumaki origins, and when mixed with his own spin on things, makes for the weirdest style of sealing I've seen"

"Huh, I figured it would be good, but that's definitely interesting to know" Tsunade said thoughtfully. "Just think what kind of powerhouse Konoha would become if someone like that had been allowed to grow and flourish inside its walls" she shook her head sadly. "Unless you have news on his whereabouts, actions, or something of relevance, you three are not to come to me with anything regarding Naruto. I am sick of demands, and your selfish arrogance is getting out of hand. Reel yourselves in before I am forced to take action. The loss of the jinchuuriki, as you so casually put it, is no one's fault but your own. Deal with the consequences like adults. Dismissed"

The elders left begrudgingly, none of them feeling particularly pleased with the lack of progress they had made in reobtaining the jinchuuriki. Still, it wasn't as if they were finished. Tsunade knew that it was inevitable, and as soon as Naruto did something to earn their attention, they would once again pounce at the chance. The Hokage idly wondered if the three shared a summoning contract with vultures, or a similar creature with a scavenger like nature. It would go a long way in explaining how they always managed to pick away at everything they could without signs of stopping.

"So, was that explanation completely true?" the blonde asked curiously, turning to her teammate.

Jiraiya frowned. "Almost all of it" he answered. "Couldn't risk letting them know that I could break the seal. The more dangerous they think Naruto is, the more likely they are to stay out of his business. I don't them added to the list of problems I have to deal with"

"Fair enough" Tsunade said, agreeing with the man's judgment. "But what of the seal? If you can break it, then I gather that you could replicate it. Would it be of any use to Konoha?"

"Possibly, but I wouldn't mess around with it. I wasn't lying when I said this was similar to what Kushina and Minato created together. In fact, it's almost uncanny in resemblance," he said. "Even trying to mess with the structure of the seal could be disastrous. I could replicate it easily enough, but not at a rate that would mean anything"

Tsunade hummed thoughtfully. "If you are willing, I would like a few of them. Not many, but enough to be useful if the situation calls for it," she said.

Jiraiya nodded. "Alright then. I'll have them done soon. I might as well stick around for a couple more days and see if these things actually do decay completely. It would be an interesting feature for a seal to have if it's real. I do hope you know that I still intend on catching him though"

"Hah! Naruto just held the entire village hostage. I'd be insulted if he couldn't at least handle you for a while longer," the Hokage said.

The Sannin tsk'd. "You said that Naruto gave you something. A summoning scroll tied to the toads. What was it exactly?"

Tsunade frowned. "That actually reminds me. Just how is it that Naruto has any connections to the toads? I thought you were in possession of the contract scroll"

"That is a long story, according the toads anyway. But to sum it up as they did, it seems that Minato wasn't as thoughtless in his actions as we had first thought. I don't know exactly to what extent he went, but he somehow ensured some failsafe's were put in place for Naruto's benefit. Being reversed summoned to Mount Myōboku just happens to be one of them," he explained.

"That's convenient," Tsunade muttered. "I suppose that was to be expected though. Minato was foolish at times, and overly trusting, but even he had the forethought to prepare for the worst"

"I wouldn't be surprised if it is also somehow linked to his knowledge in Fūinjutsu. The likeness is too precise. They must have left something to help him learn it"

Tsunade sighed. "It doesn't really matter anymore anyway. He has voiced his intention of wanting nothing to do with Konoha right now, meaning his skillset isn't our concern. Whatever he may have learned, whatever failsafe's Minato might have put in place, it's simply not of any value to us at the moment"

The toad sage grunted. "Maybe not to you. But there is something you should know"

"And that is?" the blonde inquired impatiently.

"While he did sign a contract with the toads, it wasn't the first contract Naruto signed"

Tsunade furrowed her brow. "Another contract? But wouldn't that be negated?"

"Normally, yes. But for some reason, the toads allowed their contract to be utilised alongside the other. For what reason, I have no idea, and they are very adamant in not telling me anything"

"So what does this mean? No one's ever held more than one contract at a time"

Jiraiya shrugged. "I don't know what it means in the larger scheme of things. But I can say with absolute certainty that the toads would never align themselves with a summons not equal, or greater, than their own clan. Which means that Naruto now has the aid of two armies at his beck and call. If he wasn't worthy of S-rank before, than this definitely qualifies him"

The Hokage groaned. "We are going to keep that titbit to ourselves. I don't need more fuel added to the fire against Naruto. If that's all you needed to tell me, go and begin work on those seals. _If_ Naruto proves to be a threat in any way, we might need them just to even stand a chance"

"Hopefully it won't come to that. So long as I can help it"

The office door burst open and a somewhat rattled Shizune briskly entered.

"Shizune? What's the matter?"

The woman stopped and bowed to the Hokage. "Lady Tsunade, I regret to report this, but it seems that the scroll of seals has gone missing"

Silence engulfed the office as Tsunade and Jiraiya absorbed the information, both paling ever so slightly at the thoughts that entered their minds.

"He couldn't have" Jiraiya uttered in shock.

Tsunade closed her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. "He could, and it seems that he did," she grumbled. "It should have been more secure"

Jiraiya stared out of the window, an unsure expression on his face. _'Dammit Naruto. Just what in the hell are you trying to do?'_

* * *

"I must admit, I was expecting something a little… more"

Naruto stared questioningly at the staircase leading underground. It was as suspicious as anything could be considering it was just a fancy hole in the ground. He could see the appeal of it though. It would be difficult to find, and hard to infiltrate without anyone knowing. It also worked well with Orochimaru's affinity for snakes. A dark little cave for him to hide inside. Very suitable indeed.

"Shove your expectations up your ass," Tayuya said. "Lord Orochimaru didn't build it to impress idiots like you, so don't go thinking you have the right to judge it"

"Practically speaking, it is a good structure. I was just expecting someone like Orochimaru to reside in a more grandiose location," Naruto said, offering a nonchalant shrug. "It doesn't matter to me anyway. So long as he is in here and I get to talk to him"

"We walked nonstop for over a day, you can afford to be a bit more patient," the girl growled. "We don't even know if Orochimaru will see you, so try not to get your hopes up"

Naruto smirked. "I'll try. Lead the way, if you don't mind"

The small trek through the underground passages was rather interesting for Naruto. Every hallway and room was identical from what he could see, and the entire facility was laid out like a maze. Tayuya made sure to lead him in a way that had them doubling through certain areas, no doubt hoping he would forget his place and be unable to find his way out. Luckily, that was not something Naruto needed to worry about, and so he followed the girl with little care or concern about his whereabouts or direction.

It took a little while, but soon enough they found themselves walking into a large open room, a large statue of a snake coiled up at the far end with a stone throne of sorts sitting below its raised head. Naruto took note of the others that occupied the room. The first was a younger man, probably no older than he was, with grey hair and glasses. His closeness to the throne like chair pitted him as a higher up subordinate of the Sannin. The other intriguing presence was none other than the Uchiha boy that he had passed on his way to find Tayuya. Judging by the Sharingan eyes watching his every move cautiously, it seemed that Sasuke remembered him as well.

Ignoring them for the moment, Naruto turned his attention to the one sitting in the chair. Orochimaru himself. Of course, he could have been mistaken. The man was draped in more bandages than Tayuya, many of which covered his face. It could have been Orochimaru, but it could have been a sit in, literally. Taking note of the man's narrowed yellow eyes, and Tayuya's tense posture since entering the room, Naruto simply assumed it was the Sannin.

"Well, if it isn't little Tayuya-Chan" Orochimaru said, his voice not betraying any emotion. "You seem a little worse for wear, my dear. Lost something a bit more than time, but I see you've brought something else back with you too. How interesting"

Tayuya smiled nervously. "Lord Orochimaru, this is…"

"Oh, don't worry about introducing our guest. I already know full well who he is" the snake said, smirking in amusement. "But now that you're here, I wouldn't mind knowing your reasons. Care to explain yourself, Naruto-Kun?"

The uncomfortable shift from both Sasuke and the glasses wearing teen was enough to reveal to Naruto that they all knew who he was, and that they were probably prepared for him. Well, they were as prepared as they could be based on what little information anyone had gathered on him. Still, the thought of walking into a trap, even an ill-prepared one, was not good. The confused expression on Tayuya's face, however, showed that she was the only one out of the loop, funnily enough.

"Wait, you know this guy?" the redhead in question asked in surprise.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Of course I know of him. How could I not" he replied. "It isn't every day that I have such a famous guest in my village after all. I suppose that I should be a little more honoured considering your most recent actions. You have no idea how ecstatic I was to hear of the Yondaime's own son holding the entirety of Konoha hostage, and for such a trivial thing as being allowed to walk back out of its gates. Truly a fascinating story"

Tayuya froze. The extent to which she paled was almost worrying if one was to take into account the fact that she was still technically recovering from major blood loss. She turned to Naruto and stared at him with a mixture of horror and fear. She had been at the mercy of the Yondaime's son for over a week and she hadn't even known.

Naruto was a little surprised himself actually. "Huh, they actually let that information out? I thought they'd keep it secret like everything else. I mean, I knew they needed a valid reason to make me S-ranked, but still"

"However, do not think that such actions are enough to avoid distrust" Orochimaru said. "I still wish to know your reason for coming here, with one of my supposedly dead subordinates at that"

"It's a long story. But the gist of it is simple enough. You have some things I want, and I have some things to offer you in return. A simple business transaction of sorts. That's all," Naruto said.

Orochimaru grinned. "Oh really? Little old me has something that you want," he chuckled. "Normally I would disregard anyone that came to me with such a stupid request, but luckily for you, I'm willing to make an exception, so long as you don't do anything to make me think that your presence is a threat"

Naruto held up his hand in a placating manner. "I just want to talk. Only an idiot would walk into a village with the intention of fighting its leader"

"A wise decision" the grey haired boy said smugly.

"Kabuto, please take care of Tayuya for me. I'll be a bit busy with our guest here," the Sannin said.

The boy bowed. "Of course"

Naruto watched as Tayuya was led away by Kabuto. It was clear that she didn't like him, and she probably had a good reason behind the dislike too. Despite seeing her discomfort, Naruto made no attempt to stop them. She was a problem for a later time, and right now, he only needed to worry about Orochimaru. No matter how friendly the snake summoner might have seemed, he knew that it would only take a second for that to change. For someone as skilled as Orochimaru, a second was all needed to annihilate an unsuspecting opponent, and so Naruto needed to stay on guard.

"You're the one I passed on my way here," the Uchiha stated coldly. "You were heading towards Konoha. Why?"

Naruto returned the boys calculating stare. It had been so long since he had been confronted with the Sharingan. After Itachi wiped out most of the clan, the only chance of seeing the Dōjutsu was by either meeting the S-rank nuke-nin himself, or somehow coming across his younger brother, whom was now glaring at Naruto. Still, it was unlikely that the boy before him held a candle to the skill and visual prowess of his brother. If the younger boy were even half as talented as Itachi, then he wouldn't be here under Orochimaru's thumb.

"I had some business to take care of," he answered vaguely. "Why? Worried I was hired to drag you back to the village?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his hand inching towards his kunai pouch.

Naruto smirked. "Dragging you back there would be stupid. It's in my best interest to stay away from Konoha right now, so I'm not going to jeopardise my own safety and freedom just for you. That and I doubt I would get paid enough to cover the cost of how much of a hassle it would be to actually get you there. So no, I'm not here for you"

"Sasuke-Kun, why don't you go and train. Me and Naruto have a lot to talk about" Orochimaru said.

It took a few moments, but eventually Sasuke relented, leaving the two alone and heading to the training rooms.

"So then, now that we're alone why don't you tell me what you want?"

Naruto's smirk fell, his eyes staring coldly at the Sannin. "I understand that you were once a member of Akatsuki"

Orochimaru grinned. "Oh, so you know about them?"

"Unfortunately"

"Well, if you are expecting any inside information, I'm afraid I can't give you anything useful. The group was still being formed while I was a part of it, and those that were already there kept to themselves. All I could really tell you is that they are well out of your league," he said.

"I'm well aware of that," Naruto muttered. "But information is one thing I don't need on them. I just need the ring"

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. "Aren't you just full of surprises. And how do you know of that?"

"I have my ways. But that isn't your concern. Just tell me if you still have the ring"

"And what if I do? What would I get in return?"

Naruto carefully reached for his right sleeve, pulling it up in a clearly none threatening way. Manipulating some chakra, he allowed the intricate sealing matrix on his arm become visible. Orochimaru was actually impressed by the sight. With so many seals interlacing with each other, there was little skin left untainted by the ink. With a small application of chakra to a specific seal and a moderate cloud of smoke busting into existence, Naruto was left holding a very large scroll.

Orochimaru's eyes widened comically as he licked his lips greedily. "You sure know how to gain someone's interest. The scroll of seals is definitely a heavy bargaining chip. What could you possibly request of me that would be equal in value?" he inquired, observing the boy keenly for any hints at his desires.

As it was, Naruto was an enigma to most everyone. Orochimaru was no exception. No one really knew what the jinchuuriki did apart from the occasional bounty hunt or the odd job for well-paying villages and individuals. Whatever it was that he wanted, the Sannin could only assume it was going to cost him dearly. The scroll of seals contained the most powerful and forbidden techniques from Konoha, recorded since the village's formation, and accumulated into one of the most valuable scrolls in the elemental nations.

In the right hands, the scroll was invaluable.

Naruto gave the Sannin a knowing look. "I'm not a fool, Orochimaru. I know exactly what is contained within this scroll, and I know the chaos you of all people would cause should you get your hands on it," he said. "As it is, you possess nothing worth the value of the scroll… at least, not the whole thing"

Orochimaru chuckled. "How clever of you" he said appraisingly. "So you wish to merely bargain specific jutsu from the scroll. But, now that I know you have it, what's stopping me from simply killing you and taking it?"

"Nothing really" Naruto replied flippantly. "Of course, you'd have to be quick about it. Once this is sealed back into my arm, not even Jiraiya could retrieve it without my help"

The Sannin laughed quietly to himself, a highly amused grin stretching across his bandaged face. "You are most certainly their son, Naruto-Kun. Just as cunning and bull headed as your parents were at your age. I must say, it is quite refreshing to see such potential once again. Far too many of the new generation have become weak with the peace that continues to endure," he said, gesturing for Naruto to continue. "Ask for what you want. A deal can be struck once we are both aware of the stakes"

"I want the ring," the jinchuuriki said.

"Hmm, is that all?" Orochimaru questioned. "Surely you didn't reveal something as valuable as the scroll of seals just for a little trinket"

Naruto shrugged. "It was the only way I could assure that I got what I wanted with the least amount of effort. But you're right, now that I think about it; there is something else I want"

"And what might that be?"

"I want Tayuya"

Orochimaru's grin took on a more sinister tone. "Oh, so _that's_ why you were in Konoha for so long" he said in realisation. "I take it you had Tsunade run tests on little Tayuya-Chan. Were the results to your liking then?"

"I will admit, it was a little disappointing to find that she wasn't a natural Uzumaki. But your experimentations on her have produced something too similar to ignore, and while it does raise a few more questions, I'm willing to leave those be for now so long as you are willing to let me have her"

"You're wondering where the organs came from, aren't you?" Orochimaru asked, revelling in the miniscule signs of Naruto's repulsion at the question. "Well, why don't I enlighten you a little? It's the least I can do"

Naruto's eye twitched. Maybe Orochimaru wasn't the best way of getting a hold of one of the rings after all.

"The organs were harvested from a girl. Some of my shinobi discovered an island where she was being used for her very unique talents. Uzumaki Kekkei Genkai based talents that is. The fool that was using her wasn't even interested in anything to do with the skills she exhibited, instead choosing to simply use her as a glorified failsafe for his own experimentations. But of course, I could see more use in her" the Sannin explained.

"Her own body was weak, but thankfully I didn't actually need _her._ Harvesting her organs and chakra allowed me to grow more with stem cells, giving me a healthy supply to use for my own needs. Of course, Tayuya was the only one capable of surviving so many transplants of such unique organs. Her own unique traits are quite useful, as you are most likely aware"

"So you don't intend to part with her?" Naruto asked.

"On the contrary. I would be glad to trade her for one of the jutsu in that scroll," he said cheerfully. "Her use to me has already run its course, and I don't like wasting time on dead projects. It's a win-win situation this way"

"And what do you intend to do with the organs you grew, or the chakra you harvested?"

"I have already moved them to some of my personal storage facilities. A dead project it might be, but the DNA and chakra of an Uzumaki is still a valuable resource. Who knows, there might even come a time when you will require such things from me, at which time I can trade you for yet another jutsu"

Naruto grunted. "Fine then. You can have one jutsu for the ring, and another for Tayuya. I don't intend to rip you off, so I'll only be trading jutsu you don't already know. A show of good will. And while we are at it, I will even offer you two others should you agree to the terms"

Orochimaru licked his lips. "And what exactly are your terms?"

"You stay out of my business for so long as I show the same courtesy. I have enough problematic people to deal with without you in the mix, and I'm sure you feel the same. Your shinobi will not attack Tayuya or me, nor will they intrude on my actions. If a mission is important to you, send a message with the teams you send on it. If they run into me and show it, I will do my best to stay out of the way. That'll be for one jutsu anyway"

"And the second?"

"Information" Naruto said. "I want to establish a simple information trading agreement with you. No false information, just simple equal trade"

"My, my, Naruto-Kun. You truly are an interesting one," Orochimaru said, walking up to the boy. "I accept those terms. An alliance would be beneficial for the both of us. The ring is also yours. I have little use for it. And Tayuya is yours to take when you wish"

Naruto channelled his chakra, allowing four small scrolls to appear in his hand, the actual scroll of seals being resealed into his arm. Handing the scrolls to the Sannin, Naruto waited for him to check them over and agree to them. After a simple nod, Orochimaru beckoned for Naruto to follow him. After a few minutes of wondering through even more underground passageways, the two reached a small storage room. Orochimaru entered, returning quickly and dropping a small coloured ring into Naruto's hand.

"Now for Tayuya" Naruto said.

Orochimaru only smirked. "Of course"

The Sannin led him to what felt like the farthest corner of the facility, to a large open room. It was several levels deep, and each level was lined with jail cells, each containing varying numbers of occupants, many of which no longer resembled humans. The last level was simply an open pit, styled like an arena. The only real problem Naruto found with the scene, was the beaten and bloodied Tayuya in the middle of the pit, surrounded by several of the more animalistic looking prisoners, a few of which she had seemingly already killed, their corpses littering the ground.

Before Naruto could say or do anything, the room was silenced by a pulse of Orochimaru's killing intent.

"I must apologise, Naruto-Kun. I didn't think Kabuto would have organised this so quickly. This is simply my way of establishing a shinobi's worth. All of my shinobi have to prove their strength before being recruited, and they must also prove it after each failed mission. Unfortunately, Tayuya failed her last mission" he explained. "But she isn't dead, so feel free to go and collect her"

Naruto ignored the Sannin's lack of care regarding his shinobi. He had expected to see worse things anyway, so it wasn't that bad. Without hesitation, Naruto jumped the railing of the balcony like ledge, letting himself fall seven levels to a surprisingly light landing. The still surviving monsters around Tayuya backed off enough to let him walk up to the girl, but it was clear that they weren't intending on letting either leave the pit.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Tayuya spat, wincing as she held herself up on wobbly legs.

"I purchased you from Orochimaru," he said simply, earning an angry growl from the redhead.

"Fuck off! That snake bastard doesn't own me! No way! Not after he had that creep practically sentence me to death in here!" she exclaimed.

Naruto didn't argue with her. Time was running out as it was without her carrying on. Taking advantage of her weakened and still crippled state, he effortlessly got behind her and knocked her out with a strike to the back of the head. Hefting her onto his shoulder, he looked around at the creatures that now completely surrounded him before looking up at Orochimaru.

"I assume you intend on testing me"

"Indeed" the man said. "I can't trouble myself with one sided alliances. So you must prove that you are at least capable of defeating these lowly creatures. But this is also to ensure that your terms are met for our agreement. Many of my shinobi are driven by unsavoury desires, and a simple order not to attack you may not be sufficient. Now is your chance to make an example for them. Give them a reason to follow the order, and give me a reason to bother with you at all"

Naruto deadpanned. "This is why I hate people"

Wasting no time, he began weaving through hand seals, keeping a constant eye on the creatures that were eyeing him up. Finishing his preparations, Naruto bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and placed his hand on the ground. What followed was enough to surprise even Orochimaru himself. The massive cloud of smoke that accompanied what was clearly a summons of impressive size was followed almost immediately by an even more expansive cloud of thick toxic gasses. The poisonous concoction being enough to bring even the Sannin to his knees. The entire facility shook violently as something tore into the ground, the source of the toxins and the beastly killing intend that it exuded disappearing as it vanished into the depths of the earth.

Orochimaru was hard pressed to pick himself back up, his body fighting tooth and nail against a poison that he swore he would never encounter again in his lifetime. It was a unique neuro toxin, which, if it had not been used on such short notice, would have been enough to wipe out every living thing in its range. The nostalgic gleam in his watery bloodshot eyes was matched only by the ecstatic grin that nearly cut his face in two. The smoke cleared to show a large hole burrowed into the ground, both Naruto and Tayuya gone, and the creatures closest to the source of the poison all having died from exposure.

"Oh Naruto-Kun, how you still manage to surprise me time and time again" he said to himself. "Sasuke-Kun might be my key to learning all the worlds jutsu, but you… you will be my ultimate weapon" he grinned madly. "It's only a matter of time"

* * *

 **A/N:**

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. As you can all see, I do not intend on portraying Orochimaru as anything other than an opportunistic snake, which is exactly what I believe his character should be regardless of what he ended up becoming in the manga and anime. Next chapter will continue with the development of Naruto and Tayuya's now very strange relationship. Needless to say, our favorite fiery redhead will not be happy, and we in turn can laugh at her misfortune.

Please don't forget to review your thoughts, suggestions, questions, etc. They mean a lot. I hope to reach one hundred reviews by chapter ten, so let's see if it happens.

Next chapter will be updated soonish, I hope. But I still reserve the right to be fashionably late.

Till next time guys.

Soul out!

P.S.

I hope you all figured out what summons I ended up giving Naruto, and in turn, are looking forward to seeing just how he managed to obtain it.


	7. One Piss Poor Master

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The original content though (Character, locations, and jutsu), those are mine.

* * *

When Tayuya woke up, she expected to find herself back in one of Orochimaru's labs, being prepped for another outlandish operation. To a certain extent, she even hoped that was where she was. It had been a part of her life for so long now that it had become a comfort of sorts. To lose one of the only constants that had been prevalent throughout most of her life was something Tayuya simply didn't want to cope with.

But she knew she wasn't that lucky.

The warmth of a nearby fire was all she needed to feel to know she wasn't home. The comfort of the blankets wrapped snug around her, and even the soft pillows that her head was resting on. All things that opposed the harsh nature of her home, of her life in general. To Tayuya, the harshness was an anchor. The rock that helped her keep a hold of herself, to build herself upon. Much as a blade needed to be constantly sharpened, she too needed to be reminded of the reality of things; a task easily achieved with pain or suffering.

But now, as she experienced the comfort brought by the kindness of a relative stranger, Tayuya couldn't help but feel lost. And she didn't just mean that in an emotional sense either. Having opened her eyes and observed her surroundings, she could say without a doubt that she was physically lost as well. The mountains, the large eerie expanse of water that she was at the edge of, even the oversized forest on the other side of her; nothing was familiar, with even the trees and plant life being unrecognisable.

The only thing she did recognise, albeit with a notable degree of frustration, was Naruto, casually sitting off to the side of the makeshift campsite. Tayuya immediately regretted waking up upon seeing him, and for a moment, even considered pretending to be asleep for a while longer, if only to avoid him for as long as possible. Unfortunately, she knew he wasn't stupid. Naruto himself had mentioned having been labelled S-rank, and even if it were only a recent occurrence, that still went a long way in the shinobi world.

To put it bluntly, in Tayuya's own words, being S-ranked was like announcing to the world that you were a seriously dangerous fuck with very few limitations. To achieve the rank was to do something outlandish, something so over the top that most hardy shinobi pissed themselves, in either astonishment or fear. The question now was just what kind of S-rank shinobi Naruto was. As it was, he was under the assumption that he now owned her, and depending on what kind of person he was, tayuya's situation could be either really bad, or slightly manipulable.

"You can go back to sleep if you want to. We're not in a hurry anymore" he said offhandedly, giving no physical inclination to knowing she was awake.

Tayuya grumbled tiredly and sat up. "That's not very comforting to say, asshole," she muttered. "And would you mind telling me just where the hell we are? I'm getting sick of waking up in strange places."

Naruto smiled. It was good to see that the girl hadn't lost her attitude. With everything that had happened to her recently, Naruto was rather impressed with how well she was holding up. Still, he knew it was temporary. Even shinobi with the strongest of fortitudes were capable of breaking at some point. It was only a matter of time before Tayuya finally snapped. But thankfully, it wasn't now, which gave him time to deal with a few issues without much interruption.

"We are in the Gurētonyūto Valley. Sacred home of the salamander summons, and luckily for us, a safe place to stay out of the spotlight for a while," he explained.

"Great Newt Valley?" the girl said questioningly, looking around once again at the strange world around her. To be fair, it definitely looked like a place for a summons to live, if the stories of the sage lands were anything to go by. Didn't mean that she believed him completely though. After all, the only man to hold the salamander-summoning contract was Hanzō, and that guy was a legendary shinobi of monumental proportions.

"Yes. And before you think of going exploring, I'd advise against leaving the campsite," Naruto said casually. "I have only ensured the safety of this area for the moment, and the locals won't hesitate to eat you if you wander off."

Tayuya sneered. "I'm calling bullshit on this one. There is no way in hell that we're in the home of the salamanders. Even if you had a contract with them, there's no way you'd bring someone like me here. So how about just telling me the truth."

"Okay then, if that's how you feel, why not take a guess as to where we actually are?"

She snorted. "Well, all things considered, I'd say that we were in the sage lands of the toads," she said smugly.

Naruto gawked at her slightly. "Huh. And why would that be your guess?"

"Uh, simple really. You're the son of the Yondaime, aren't you? He summoned toads, so did his teacher, Jiraiya of the Sannin, so it only makes sense that you'd hold the contract," she explained in a matter of fact tone.

Naruto looked at the girl in mild shock, his surprise clearly evident. "Okay then, miss smarty-pants, where are the toads? If we are in fact in the land of the toads, then shouldn't there be toads all around?"

Tayuya paused. "Uh… maybe you're keeping me in a secluded spot. You know… making sure that I can't harm any of your precious summons."

"If you could harm any of the toads of Mount Myōboku in your condition, then they would have a lot of explaining to do," Naruto drawled. "But, to your credit, you are quite perceptive. Assuming that I have the toad contract based on rather stretched evidence is… cool, I suppose. I wouldn't say it's impressive, but you're smarter than I had thought you were. Strangely enough, you aren't actually wrong either. I do, in fact, possess a contract with the toad summons. Still doesn't mean that we're at Mount Myōboku though."

"Hmm, I guess that makes a bit of sense," she muttered, narrowing her eyes at him. "But your explanation there only brings up more questions. Like why you're even bothering to tell me all of this stuff in the first place. Aren't you afraid I'll leak information?"

"Eh, I'm not really worried about any of that anymore. The more people learn, the more reasons they'll have to avoid me. Those that try to hunt me down probably won't match me anyway, so I don't have much reason for concern," he said offhandedly. "Besides, it'd be more likely that the hidden villages would want to capture me once they learn of my lineage, my little ransom at Konoha, and the fact that I hold two summoning contracts. If they are trying to capture me, then I have the obvious advantage of them not being able to kill me, or cripple me too extremely. It generally leaves them all at my mercy to kill as I please."

Tayuya stared at him suspiciously, searching for any signs that he was either joking about killing or simply lying. Far too often had she come across soft-cock shinobi, unwilling to bend their saint-like beliefs for the greater good. Considering his caring of her, Tayuya had assumed as such of Naruto, but so far, he was showing himself to be redeemable. His outright killing of his target was a good sign, and while at the time it had been a little inconvenient, it was an aspect of him that she could respect. Even now, as she observed him keenly, he showed literally no signs of lying. He was completely prepared to kill everyone that came after him, and with such a casual regard for it too.

For a brief moment, it almost made Tayuya think that there was hope of them getting along… to the same extent as there was hope of the Shinigami giving up a soul from its hoard, or of Kami herself having a drunken make out session with her.

Terribly unlikely.

"Well, cockiness aside, you seem like a cool enough guy. So, why don't you just let me go and I won't have to spend the rest of my existence making your life as miserable as possible." she said in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Naruto smiled at her warmly. "That's a really sweet offer, and normally, I'd take the deal. But I'm going to say no on this occasion. Sorry."

Tayuya snarled. "Why the fuck not!" she yelled. "What the fuck did you even buy me for? And don't you dare say anything about sex, because I swear I'll rip your dick off before you managed anything."

"Why does everyone always jump to that conclusion?" Naruto mumbled to himself. "Do I really come off as someone that would buy a girl for that purpose?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"Ugh, that's annoying. I'll have to do something about that later," he muttered. "But to answer your question, I did technically buy you for the purpose of company. Gets a bit boring travelling around by myself all the time. You seem entertaining enough."

"Still sounds like you want to fuck me."

Naruto scrunched up his face in a sour expression. "As cute as you may be, I'm not that kind of guy."

Tayuya blushed angrily. "Don't call me cute you asshole! No one gets to call me cute!" she yelled.

"Aww, but you get even cuter when you're mad. You turn red and match your hair," he teased.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Stop saying that or else!"

"Or else what? You'll keep yelling at me?" Naruto asked. "I'm pretty sure I could cope with that."

Tayuya snarled and turned away with a growl. She wasn't sure what she was angrier at, his teasing, or her own forgetfulness of not having anything to actually threaten him with. It was humiliating at this point to be so completely outmatched and not even be in a fight. To simply know that any and every outcome of a struggle on her part would end in her defeat made her stomach sink. Even _if_ she got away, she was in one of the hidden lands of a summons. It was usually impossible to find such places, let alone find a way out of them.

"How long was I asleep for this time?" she asked, taking note of the absence of pain throughout her body.

He shrugged. "A few hours at least. I'm not too good at keeping track of time unless it's in days."

"Why aren't I in pain anymore? A few hours isn't long enough for me to have healed completely?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, about that…" he said nervously. "I might have accidentally poisoned you with one of the most potent neurotoxins in existence."

Tayuya's eye twitched violently.

"Don't worry though, you won't die," he assured her. "I brought us here so I could give you the antidote. Only place that you can get it in large quantities… so long as you have the contract with the salamanders that is. Still, you took a lot of the stuff in, so side effects are expected. You probably won't feel much of anything for a while yet, and it wouldn't surprise me if you lost some degree of muscle control."

"The fuck do you mean _probably_?" the redhead yelled. "Shouldn't you know everything about this shit? What made you think that fucking me up with poison was a good idea in the first place?"

Naruto pouted childishly. "It's not like I did it on purpose. Jeez, I save your life and this is the thanks I get."

"Don't take that kind of fucking attitude with me, you dumbass! You aren't the one who got poisoned!"

"Hey, I breathed in just as much poison as you so don't get on a high horse about that. Luckily for me, this isn't the first time I've been poisoned by a salamander, making the whole healing process much easier to deal with. Actually, what you're dealing with right now is mild in comparison to a real dose of the poison. Of course, it's still nothing compared to what you've already been through."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean? What would you know about what I've been through?"

"Well, I did get the Hokage to perform a full medical check while we were in Konoha. It hasn't really surprised me how good you are at ignoring pain considering all the operations you must have had performed on you."

"Eh, I was mostly doped up pretty well for those. Orochimaru was cruel, but he wasn't an idiot. What's the point in making a better shinobi if they're too busy screaming in pain to be used properly?" she said offhandedly. "He didn't like to waste supplies either, so yeah, if you really want to know for sure, I am pretty good at ignoring pain. You, however, are proving to one major pain in my ass that I'm struggling to do so with."

Naruto laughed. "I'm like that apparently," he said. "My sensei almost killed me a couple of times for it. Said I was too annoying to let live. Something about preserving whatever peace his mind was holding onto."

Tayuya deadpanned at him. "Uh-huh. That really doesn't surprise me at this point. Too bad he didn't go through with it."

"Well, I'm sure he would have, but a jinchuuriki is a hard thing to replace on short notice, especially for the Kyuubi." he replied.

The girl's eyes widened ever so slightly. "So that's what they did with it? Always wondered how the Yondaime Hokage managed to beat it, you know, considering how dramatic and over the top all the stories about it are. You'd think it would have simply flattened the village and walked off before anyone could stop pissing their pants."

"Aren't you supposed to be a little more, I don't know… shocked?" Naruto asked. "Normally people are distancing themselves from me by now."

"Yeah, wow, you're a jinchuuriki. Big deal. Get over yourself. There are a lot of special snowflakes out there that are scarier than you. I mean, how bad can the Bijuu even be if they all got beaten and captured by one guy," she drawled.

Naruto gawked at her. "I've never thought about it that way."

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "That crap aside, how long are we going to be stuck here?"

"Well, it'd be a bad idea to travel too far until the poison is all out of your system. Given how well you seem now, I'd guess at least another day or so, maybe less."

"Great," she grumbled. "Then I at least hope there is somewhere safe to bathe myself."

Naruto pursed his lips. "That depends on your idea of what safe is. Most of this place is toxic. The lake, the streams, a lot of the air, most everything is laced with poison. Now that you've had the antidote, you should be fine for at least a week. You'd have to drink a lot of pure poison to counter the effects. But you could still lose enough muscle control to make swimming difficult, especially with only one arm."

"So… it's a no go on the bath?"

"Unless you're okay with me keeping an eye on you."

Tayuya glared at him. "I think I'll just wait," she droned. "But so long as I'm awake, why don't you explain to me exactly what your plan is from here? You said you bought me from Orochimaru, so I assume that I'm going to play some sort of a part in things."

Naruto smiled. "Very astute of you. But to be completely honest, I haven't planned very far ahead. You are currently acting as a real fluke to things. I was originally heading for Sunagakure, so I'll probably just continue with that."

"Ugh, fucking Suna. Why are you heading towards a desert shithole?" she asked.

"No real reason," he said. "I've just been travelling around for a short time and that's one place I haven't been to yet. Wouldn't mind meeting up with whoever the next Kazekage is supposed to be. Making good connections early is always a good idea."

"Yeah, well, you have fun with that. Drop me off somewhere on your way so I can continue actually living."

"Not a fan of the heat?"

"Not a fan of getting my head cut off," Tayuya said. "Even if you weren't there, it's pretty common knowledge that Orochimaru killed the last Kazekage and masqueraded as him to kill the old Hokage. As soon as the people of Suna recognised me, I'd be killed. They'd most likely torture me for information first too, so yeah, count me out on that little adventure. I have come close enough to death enough times to do me for the next year."

"Well, if that's your only reason, then you shouldn't worry too much. I'm confident that I can stop them from touching you, or at least killing you outright. Worst comes to worst, I can just reverse summon both of us back here."

Tayuya sighed. "You really suck at this, you know that."

"Huh?"

"You bought me, you moron. You aren't supposed to listen to my complaining as if it matters. I belong to you. Just make me do what you want and stop trying to change things for my benefit. It's actually starting to creep me out a little."

Naruto shrugged. "Never owned someone before. Sorry, but I'm mostly clueless on how it's supposed to work. Not that I really care. I only bought you because stealing from Orochimaru would be a bad idea."

Tayuya smirked slyly. "Oh? So you were going to steal me?" she asked. "Sounds like the plot of one of those sappy love stories. The gorgeous femme-fatale stolen from her harsh masters clutches by the," she glanced at Naruto, "Questionably dense guy that mutilated her earlier on in the story."

Naruto groaned. "I said I was sorry."

"I don't care! I'm still not over it!"

"I can see that. Still, referring to yourself as the femme-fatale of the story is suspicious. Aren't they the ones that are supposed to trick the protagonist into dangerous situations?" he asked curiously.

"Eh, more or less," she replied, levelling a harsh stare at him. "And it's the _gorgeous_ femme-fatale. Don't get it wrong again."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "Again, you're cute, but you still need to grow up a little before you can get called gorgeous."

"I'm sixteen dammit!"

He stared at her in surprise. "You look like your fourteen."

Tayuya seethed. "That's not my fault! And the jokes on you, you creep. Now it looks like you just went and purchased a child for your sick fantasies."

"I told you I'm not that kind of guy!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Try explaining that to everyone else. All I have to do is cry out for help and accuse you of doing all kinds of disgusting unthinkable things to me. Who do you think they're going to believe? You or the scared little girl with a missing arm?" she said, a smug look on her face as she watched Naruto's own morph into an expression of confusion and horror. "Now, unless you want to end up classified as a paedophile, I suggest you start doing exactly as I say, starting with cooking me something to eat."

Naruto continued to stare at her in stunned silence for a few seconds before giving her a goofy grin. "Yep, you're definitely going to be fun to keep around," he said with a laugh.

Tayuya hung her head. "Whatever. It was worth a try," she said quietly. "Well then, since it seems you intend on actually keeping me, now would be a good time to tell me what you expect of me. If sex isn't what you're after, then what exactly is it you have for me to do? A one armed, poisoned, and arguably half-dead teenage girl isn't what I would call a good labourer."

"Be good company. Keep things amusing. Simple things really," Naruto said casually. "You're doing a good job so far, so I can't imagine it'll be hard."

"Hang on… you're actually gunna keep me around just so you can talk to someone? I thought you were joking about that," she said. "Wait! No! Fuck no! I'm not going to spend who the hell knows how long just following your stupid ass around for amusement. I'm a fucking kunoichi and I deserve to be treated as one. You bought me as a kunoichi, so you are going to use me as one."

Naruto gave her a questioning look. "You do know what being a _real_ kunoichi entails, right?"

She smirked. "It entails death, sex, sacrifice, and a few inhumane things that most shinobi claim to be above. A kunoichi does whatever she needs to do to get the mission done, no matter the moral or emotional conflict. It's all the pansy fuckers in those stupidly peaceful villages that are ruining it. They all forget that being 'too good' or 'above' such things is leaving the dirty work undone. You don't have to worry about me being squeamish towards anything. I'll do whatever I have to."

"That's useful, I suppose. But I doubt I'll need you to do anything excessive," he replied.

Tayuya pouted. "You are going to be one piss poor master. At least Orochimaru let me kill people."

Naruto shook his head. "I never said I wouldn't let you kill people. Hell, that could actually make my life a little easier so long as you're good at it. I just don't expect you to do anything that could be otherwise avoided."

"Eh, whatever. Still going to be boring," she said, taking a moment to actually look around at her surroundings again, an unsure expression on her face.

"You're wondering how I have the salamander summoning contract, aren't you?" Naruto asked.

Tayuya glared at him. "Don't do that," she said. "But yes, I am curious. As far as anyone knows, only Hanzō of Amegakure had the contract."

Naruto smiled. "Yep. He was really protective of it too. Nearly killed me when I tried to take it the first time. Of course, it wasn't until after I survived the ass kicking that he agreed to train me. Although I'm still pretty sure he only did that because he needed a punching bag and I'm very hard to kill."

"Oh, it just gets better and better with you doesn't it? First, you were just the son of a Kage, then you're also an S-rank shinobi, and now you're telling me you were trained by Hanzō of the fucking salamander. One of the most powerful pseudo-Kage to ever live."

"You make it sound so impressive. A lot of people have been trained by exceedingly powerful shinobi. It's not that uncommon. It doesn't necessarily mean that I'm anywhere near his level."

Tayuya ignored that comment. "So what? He just let you sign the contract and you became his apprentice?"

Naruto's smile fell. "Not exactly. Student or not, Hanzō wasn't willing to let anyone get their hands on the salamander contract. He deemed it too dangerous if the wrong people got a hold of it."

"Then how the fuck do you have it?!" Tayuya demanded, getting rightfully annoyed at his avoidance of the answer.

"I waited until he died, and I stole it from his grave."

Tayuya grunted. "Boring," she said. "You could have at least added some kind of epic battle to the story. Now you just come off as a weak thief."

Naruto gave her a fake smile. A habit he had never been able to completely shake off from his childhood in Konoha. He remained silent, letting Tayuya ramble on about the art of dramatizing stories for the sake of entertainment. He could have told her more about what happened on that day, the memory of it having yet to fade in the slightest. It hadn't even been a year since Hanzō's final battle, if it could be called that. To anyone who had witnessed it, it was anything but. It was the complete and utter slaughter of a single man at the hands of someone claiming to be a god.

It took some time before Tayuya finally got tired enough to go back to sleep, voicing her insistence on not being woken up until they were able to leave. Naruto was glad to finally have some peace and quiet to think about things. Not to say he wasn't enjoying having someone to talk to about mundane things; it would simply take some getting used to after so long of wandering around by himself.

The first real subject of thought was his intentions with Suna. Tayuya had made a good point when she said the village populace would want her head, and Naruto didn't doubt that it would happen. He was confident that he could keep her from being killed, if necessary. The problem came with how he would do so without becoming a criminal in the eyes of the village. That left killing anyone who tried to kill Tayuya as a bad idea, unfortunately. There were other ways though. More complicated, but less violent methods of solidifying the girl's safety. It was just unlucky for Naruto that those particular methods involved the one thing he hated most of all…

…politics.

A big room full of old people with stuck up attitudes, outdated ideals, questionable morals, and pockets that were never full enough. Above all else, Naruto despised the political systems of the shinobi villages. It wasn't even because he had struggled to understand so much of it for so many years of his life. No, it was simply because he was sick of watching what were once symbols of peace and prosperity, great communities striving towards bringing everyone together, decay into nothing more than massive training facilities for armies and well-trained mercenaries.

Well, actually, that was how Hanzō would put it. Naruto hadn't lived long enough to truly understand how drastically the villages had changed over the years, but he knew that Hanzō had a point. It made him wonder just how naïve Hashirama Senju was in creating Konoha and almost single handedly bringing about the shinobi world as everyone now knew it. Did the acclaimed 'god of shinobi' not take everything into consideration when he gathered together as many trained killers as he could to form a village?

After all the wars, as well as the distribution of the Bijuu, Naruto was inclined to guess the answer to be no. A decent attempt on Hashirama's part though.

Sighing quietly, Naruto checked to make sure that Tayuya was actually asleep before calmly going through some hand seals. He bit his thumb and placed his hand on the ground before being enveloped in a cloud of smoke. The smoke cleared quickly to reveal the change of his surroundings, now being a large room occupied by only himself and two old looking toads. Fukasaku and Shima, the heads of the toad summons, neither of which looked overly calm.

"You two have some serious explaining to do," Naruto said irritably, crossing his arms.

"Now, now, Naruto. There's no need to take a tone with us. We only did what we thought was…" Shima tried to say

"Don't even bother, Shima," interrupted Fukasaku. "We don't need to explain our actions to you, boy. Our contract with you is subject to stipulations, one of which being that we are not required to follow your orders."

Naruto ignored the toads. "I made a simple request. Don't tell Jiraiya where I was going. Even Gamabunta thought that was a good idea. The old toad sage even thought it was a good idea. So what the hell were you two thinking in telling him where I was going. Not only that, but you even told him I had a girl with me!" he said angrily, glaring at them. "Explain. Now!"

"Naruto, you know that Jiraiya only wants what's best for you," Shima said. "If you would only allow him to teach you…"

"I won't allow him to teach me anything! I've made it by perfectly fine without his help. I didn't need it before, and I don't need it now."

"We were entrusted with the key to your seal, boy. Only Jiraiya is capable of using it properly to maintain the Kyuubi. As such, it is our duty to keep him informed of your whereabouts in case you lose yourself to the Bijuu," Fukasaku said. "The safety of thousands is a greater priority than keeping you happy."

"I already have the stupid fox under control. If there was any way he could get out, he would have already done so by now. And for the record, I can just as easily use the key myself. You just won't let me have it because you're so desperate for there to be something that I might need Jiraiya for."

"The great toad sage's prophesies must come to fruition if we hope for the world to know peace. All of the prophesies point to you being the one he spoke of, but only if you learn under Jiraiya's tutelage. A student with the power to save or destroy the world," Shima said.

Naruto stared down at them questioningly. "That prophesy also states that it is Jiraiya's actions that will determine the path that student takes. Did none of you consider that it is this course of action you're taking right now that would push me on to the path to destroy everything?"

The toads remained awkwardly silent.

"Exactly. Do a little thinking before you actively start pissing off the kid who holds the power to destroy the world," Naruto said. "Now would be a good time to stop keeping Jiraiya informed. If he tracks me down through information you provided him, I will be coming back here to tie up loose ends. That's the only warning you're going to get."

Naruto didn't wait for the toads to reply before reverse summoning himself back to Gurētonyūto valley, leaving Shima and Fukasaku to dwell on the warning he had given them.

"What are we going to do about him now?" Shima asked.

Fukasaku frowned. "Nothing, for now. We can't risk provoking his wrath just yet. With the salamanders on his side, we wouldn't stand much of a chance and we aren't yet sure of his ability to control the Kyuubi," he sighed. "We have no other choice but to leave Jiraiya to his own devices for a while. Hopefully he can find Naruto on his own and put the boy on the right path."

"But what about what Naruto said? What if this is the wrong thing for Jiraiya to do? He wants to teach the boy how to properly harness the Bijuu within him. Forcing him to do so could be exactly what pushes him onto the wrong path."

"That is just a risk we are going to have to take. Whether he wants it or not, the power of the Kyuubi is the only way to assure that he is strong enough to overcome any tasks that lay ahead, regardless of the path he ends up taking."

* * *

The next day found Tayuya strangely calmer than usual. The morning rituals went by quickly, the boring and mundane routine actually helping her feel a bit more at ease with things. However, her reason for being calm wasn't due to the casualness of the morning, nor was it due to her physical sluggishness, no doubt a side effect of the poison. No, it was more due to her own curiosity.

For whatever reason, Naruto had been oddly quiet the whole morning. If she was reading things properly, then Tayuya was safe in assuming that something had pissed him off. In the back of her mind, she really hoped that her antics up until now weren't the cause of his anger. The last thing she needed was for him to beat the shit out of her, or kill her. As such, Tayuya remained quiet herself. Staying as calm as she could while continuing to observe the boy from what she deemed a safe distance.

As the morning dragged on, during which time they had yet to leave the land of the salamanders, Tayuya noted the gradual decrease in Naruto's irritation. It was somewhat slow, but soon enough he was back to his usual self. His relaxed and cool composure returning, serving to unnerve the girl more than his anger ever could. Compared to Orochimaru's cocky-calmness, Naruto's was far more deceiving. He was simply relaxed. It was almost as if the world could fall into chaos and he still wouldn't care.

The only time he broke away from his calmness, was when he would glance at her curiously. She couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, and she was somewhat sure that he thought she wasn't noticing him do it. The best she could come up with was that he was thinking about what he was going to do with her. As it was, Tayuya knew she was mostly useless now. Even her talent in Genjutsu would take way too long to get back up to speed without her ability to play a flute. It would be a waste of time, and the money he spent for her, for Naruto to fuss around trying to train her. That really only left a handful of options since she still wasn't at all convinced by his saying he only wanted company.

He could sell her; possibly make some money back depending on whom he sold her to. Slavers wouldn't pay too much due to her missing arm, but a village might dish out a good sum for information on Orochimaru. He could also whore her out and make sure that he got some kind of profit from her, not that she would let herself live long enough for that to happen. Then he could actually be serious about the whole company thing, which Tayuya was starting to see as a fate worse than death. The backup plan for all of this was to get killed by someone in Suna before the worst happened. Until then though, Tayuya was content with seeing how things played out.

"You know, some would consider it rude to stare like that," Naruto said.

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "And some would say it's creepy to keep glancing at a girl the way you have been. So how about you fess up and tell me what's gotten your panties in a twist?"

Naruto pouted. "I don't wear panties, Tayuya."

"I don't care. Now fess up," she retorted. "I am not going to deal with you having these stupid little temper tantrums and be left in the dark about it."

"It wasn't even a temper tantrum," he said. "I was just a bit annoyed, that's all. Turns out that the guy trying to hunt me down was getting information from the toads."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "How the hell would someone be able to get information from the toad summons?" she froze, "Oh fuck no! You're getting hunted down by Jiraiya of the fucking Sannin! What the hell! I just escaped one and now I'm going to get killed by another one… right next to your sorry ass no doubt. Aaagh! Less than two fucking weeks and you completely fuck everything up for me!"

Naruto looked at her in surprise. "Has anyone ever told you that you are good at piecing things together?"

"Shut up! I'm having an end of life crisis right now!"

"You're not going to die. Hell, Jiraiya probably won't be able to find me for quite some time yet. Tsunade probably still has him stuck in Konoha doing something. Most likely replicating my explosive seals. Not quite sure how I feel about that, but I can't really complain," he said with a shrug. "Anyway, we need to get going. The salamanders don't like people staying around for long periods of time like this. Makes them all edgy and paranoid."

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Let's go to Suna and get killed. Bloody fantastic plan."

"You aren't going to die. Stop being so pessimistic."

"No! I'm not trusting you with my life. You've done a terrible job with it so far."

"You're still alive."

"By luck, if that! I'm sure the only reason I'm still half functional is because of the efforts of Tsunade."

"Well, sure, you could look at it like that. But I still carried you there, and I looked after you while you were recovering."

"More like looked after yourself, you perv. Feeling me up while I was unconscious."

"Oh god, not back to this."

"Pick a different destination. Don't, and I'll just keep whining and complaining until you get rid of me."

Naruto groaned. "I can hear that," he muttered. "But luckily, I'm highly skilled when it comes to dealing with loud and annoying people."

Walking up to Tayuya, Naruto fished a slip of paper out of one of his pockets. Grabbing the girls hand as she lashed out at him and moving it aside, he pressed the paper to her throat, causing it to stick before stepping back and watching as Tayuya ripped the piece of paper away from her, revealing the now clearly printed seal on her skin.

"What the…" she went to yell, only for her voice to completely disappear.

Naruto sighed in relief. "Beautiful silence. Now I can see just how annoying I must have been when I was younger. No wonder Hanzō made this seal for me. Although I guess you're the one stuck with it now."

Tayuya tried to yell at him, getting angrier and angrier at the lack of voice until she eventually gave up with a silent huff, glowering pathetically at Naruto.

"If you behave, I'll remove that once we reach Suna," Naruto said, trying his hardest not to laugh at her childish pout. "I'll even buy you whatever food you want once we get there if you hold that cute expression for the journey," she immediately scowled, "Yeah, that was a long shot. Oh well. If they manage to corner us and we have no way of escape, as unlikely as that is, I'll let you personally slit my throat. But if we come out unscathed, then you need to stop doubting me so much. The world is bad enough without you pointing out all the negatives of it."

Tayuya screwed her face up into a sour expression, making an excessive and crude gesture that Naruto translated to mean 'You're a cunt'. It also helped that she mouthed the words very clearly, pointing at him before cupping her hand between her legs.

"Is that really necessary? You were vulgar enough with your words. Please don't act them out like that, for all our sakes."

She flipped him off.

Naruto took a deep breath. It was going to be a long ass walk that was for sure. Once again going through the necessary hand seals, he began thinking about just what it was he was going to do in Suna. Despite being one of the big five shinobi villages, Suna had very little to offer outside of puppetry and poisons. The latter of those was easily equalled by some of the lesser villages, so their only real unique trait was the puppets, and a handful of mostly dead Kekkei Genkai.

Glancing at Tayuya's missing arm, he was struck with an idea. It wasn't the first time he had thought of it, but now that he was focussing on it, he was coming up with some interesting ideas. All that was needed was for Tayuya to give her consent on the idea. The expenses and convincing required would be dealt with later. Putting his hand on her shoulder, Naruto bit his thumb and smiled at her.

Maybe after this she would start being a little nicer to him.

If only he knew how wrong he was.

* * *

 **A/N:**

So, this chapter took a little longer than I had originally intended, but it's here now, so that's a relief. Not sure how long the next one will take since I am gradually running out of free hours of the week to actually sit down and write, but I hope it's up for you guys sooner rather than later. As you can see now, the next couple of chapters will take place in Suna, allowing me to introduce the all-time fan favourite Gaara, along with Temari, who is a personal favourite of my own for... reasons. It will also be a great setting to actually have Naruto _do something._ While I do so love writing dialogue and character interactions, action scenes are a requirement in a story like this. Unfortunately, as I have stated in my other fanfics, I am very unskilled at fight scenes, so don't expect to much from them.

Reviews are going well so far, aside from a few exceptions. Please keep leaving them as you finish each chapter. Let me know where I did good and what I fucked up, but most importantly, please give me advice on how to fix the problem for future chapters.

Anyway, that'll be all this time.

Till next chapter guys.

Don't forget to review.

Soul out!


	8. Stuck in the Sand

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but the OC's and original material is mine. Ask before using please.

* * *

Naruto groaned tiredly. "Why the hell does it have to be so damn hot?"

Tayuya offered him a silent and judgmental glance of disregard as she walked beside him, unaffected by the heat. While the temperature was a little extreme, it wasn't enough to make her whinge about it. She had to show him up after all. Beating him physically wasn't in the cards for her anymore, but making him feel mentally incompetent compared to her own impressive fortitude was a game Tayuya was more than happy to play.

It had been a couple of hours since the two had left Gurētonyūto valley. The deserts of the Land of Wind were proving to be a horrible opposite to the damp and cool climate that the salamanders lived in. Tayuya, briefly, found herself longing to be back there. That was short lived however, mostly thanks to the constant groans of complaint from Naruto. Soon enough, Tayuya couldn't help but snap at the annoying sound.

"Argh! You dipshit! If you didn't want to deal with the heat for so long, you could have just reverse summoned us closer to the village," she said. "Now stop whinging and harden the fuck up."

Naruto pouted. "It's not my fault. I spent most of my life to the east. Nowhere that way gets this hot, and nowhere anywhere should. This is just…"

"Fucked?" Tayuya offered.

"Eh, sure. Let's go with that."

"Well, we can always turn back while we have the chance. There's literally fuck all in Suna anyway."

"Nope. I've made up my mind. We're going to Suna, no matter the lack of profit."

"Just how many more stupid level, crazy bullshit ideas can you have? What exactly is your plan for getting me into the village in the first place? You gunna just hand me over to them and hope that you can bullshit you're way into making them release me back to you in exchange for something?"

Naruto squinted at her suspiciously. "This psychic stuff is getting creepy."

Tayuya's eyes widened. She turned and glared at him, baring her teeth angrily. "You were going to hand me over to Suna?! You fucking cunt!"

"I wasn't _going_ to," he retorted. "I was simply thinking about it, you know, as an option. The more options I have to play with, the better the outcome will probably be. Unless Suna has some kind of immediate execution thing. Not sure how that would turn out."

"How about you just cross that plan off the list. There is no way I'm letting you just hand me over to them. They'll interrogate me for all I know then they'll slit my throat and toss me out for the sand to consume."

Naruto chuckled. "Interesting theory. Quite the imagination too."

"It's not imagination, or a theory," Tayuya growled. "Orochimaru was in control of Sunagakure for a short time while posing as the Kazekage. I know damn well how they deal with their problems. Suna didn't become one of the great five hidden villages through puppetry alone you know. The assholes are good at torture and interrogation… and also survival, I guess. They do live out here in this shithole after all."

"Good point. Probably a bunch of loonies too. This heat can't be good for brain development," Naruto drawled. "Still, we need to go to Suna, and we're already on our way."

"You don't even know what you're doing in Suna. What if we get there and you realise they have literally nothing for you?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I'll let you punch me in the face. Sound fair?" he offered.

The girl's eyes gleamed viciously. "Got yourself a deal, limp-dick." She said happily.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yeah, that's not the right one either," Tayuya said thoughtfully. "Finding the right nickname for you is going to be a real bitch."

"I already have a name, a perfectly good one at that. Stop trying to replace it."

Tayuya scoffed. "You're name is a food, and not even a cool sounding one. Be thankful I'm putting so much effort into making you sound better."

"You literally just called me limp-dick."

"I never said it was going to be pretty, only better."

"How is that better than Naruto?"

"Anything is better than Naruto."

Naruto pouted and walked past Tayuya hastily.

Tayuya merely grinned in response. "Sulking about it isn't going to change it," she called out to him, snickering quietly to herself. "Idiot."

* * *

Baki stood attentively behind the Kazekage's desk, his hands, and only visible eye, working patiently and efficiently at reducing the piles of paperwork placed upon said desk. After completing what he deemed to be a sufficient amount of it, he stepped away from the desk, sitting himself down in a chair positioned behind and just to the side of the one intended for the Kazekage.

As much as he would have liked to have been chosen as the successor to said title, it was little more than a dream. Not that he minded too much. The responsibility of being a Kage was too much stress for him anyway. He was much better off being a right hand man, which, thankfully, was exactly what he had been assigned to be for the new Kazekage in training. While he couldn't be Kazekage himself, it was still a great honour to be remembered as the man who personally tutored the next Kazekage in the ways of politics, and all the other brain-numbing things required to be a Kage.

Should he succeed in his new duty, and help guide the future Kazekage to greatness, then he knew his name would go down in history somewhere. Not to say he wasn't going to be remembered should he fail though. His accomplishments as a Suna shinobi assured that he would at least be remembered in some form. Baki, however, strived to be remembered for good deeds, not those that even he questioned himself on.

It was for this reason that he was dedicated to making sure the future Kazekage was going to be the best Kazekage possible.

A loud crashing sound incited a low grumble from the man as he turned his eye to the office door. In a matter of moments, the distant crashing turned to audibly heavy and angry footsteps before a mass of black burst through the door and held it open. The strange boy, garbed in a black full-body suit, complete with a cat-eared hood and 'war-paint', continued to stand at the door dutifully, waiting nervously.

Whom he was waiting for was revealed quickly as a highly irritated blonde girl stomped her way into the office after him. With an almost animalistic growl, and an angry slashing movement of her hand, she manipulated some wind to slam the door closed hard enough to crack the wood. Ignoring the 'eep' from her brother as he rushed over to Baki's side, the girl continued to stomp her way to the Kazekage's desk, sitting herself down with a loud and frustrated huff.

Baki frowned at the girl's behaviour. "What's the cause of your attitude this time, Temari?"

The blonde scowled. "Everything," she said. "This entire mess and all the crap that I have to deal with because of it."

"And by everything, you of course mean…"

"Gaara! Yes! I'm talking about Gaara!" Temari exclaimed. "They have no right to keep him locked up the way he is. Wasn't that seal they put on him enough?"

"To be fair, he did try to kill you in Konoha, Temari," her brother said nervously. "Maybe it really is the safest option, at least for moment."

The girl glared at him. "So what are you saying, Kankuro? You agree with it. You really think that it's alright to keep our own little brother locked away beneath this stupid village, to be isolated until we need to use him as a weapon?" she hissed venomously.

Kankuro took a cautious step back. "Of course I don't want him to be locked up. But what we want doesn't mean much when it concerns a literal psychopath." he said as calmly as he could.

Baki nodded. "Kankuro is right. Gaara is no longer the innocent little boy you wish him to be. That child is long since dead; consumed by the demon he houses. If it weren't for the drastic precautions we have been forced to take, then your brother would be claimed by Konoha for protection, as a best-case scenario. This is the only way that Gaara can remain in Suna without us resorting to killing him."

Temari growled. "You think I don't know that?" she spat. "It doesn't change the fact that my own brother is locked up like an animal. I'm being prepared to become the next Kazekage, and I will be expected to use Gaara in times of need. How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Through great effort and no small amount of emotional conditioning." Baki answered.

As a hardened shinobi of considerable age for the profession, Baki was one who could attest to the benefits of controlling one's own empathy and sympathy. That, however, was a skill honed over many years. He was not inclined to believe that Temari would simply shut out her concerns for her brother. In fact, he was glad she refused to. Compassion was a trait that the girl's father sorely lacked in any great quantity and it in turn lead to many problems with his rule as Kage.

Temari's compassion and loyalty towards the village and its people would hopefully be the very thing that would ensure a prosperous rule at her hands. A prior meeting with the senior council had already proved that the girl cared very little for extravagance or money, having outright refused to waste time and resources on a celebration of her being elected as the next Kazekage. The decision wasn't finalised quite yet, but her exceptional efforts in rekindling the alliance between Suna and Konoha left little room for argument over who could fill the spot.

The blonde sighed tiredly and slumped in her chair. "Whatever. I'll worry about this later, after I am actually the Kazekage and I can argue my ass off with minimal repercussions," she droned, turning her attention to the paperwork on the desk in front of her. "How are things going on in the village?" she asked.

"Still not great," Baki said. "Trading is finally starting to return to how it once was, thanks to the aid of Konoha. Not that they are giving as much help as they could. It is still better than nothing."

"It's the best we have right now. The alliance is being held together by threads right now. My friendship with Shikamaru being one of them."

Kankuro grinned. "Oh, so you're on first-name terms now, huh?" he asked.

The body suit clad teen was barely able to dodge the paperweight aimed for his head, which, to her credit, Temari was able to throw at him with admirable grace and accuracy despite her mood.

"Now is a bad time to test my patience, Kankuro," she warned. "But if you must know, yes, I feel that I know Shikamaru well enough to refer to him by his first name. Only as a friend though, so don't think too far into it."

"Only as a friend… _for now_." Kankuro said smugly.

The second paperweight didn't miss.

"Argh! What the hell, Temari! You almost broke my nose!"

Temari smirked. "Good. Maybe now you'll think twice before sticking it into business that isn't your own."

Baki grunted. "You'd have to cut it off to get that effect."

Temari snorted in amusement. "Write that down somewhere. It'll be my first order as Kage."

Kankuro pouted at them. "You guys suck."

The trio's moment of amusement was cut short as the office door was thrown open abruptly, a shinobi walking in with an unsure expression on his face.

"Ugh, what's the matter now?" Temari asked. "And please keep it brief. I still have to deal with the headache this paperwork is going to give me at some point."

"Uh, lady Temari, there is someone at the main gate." The shinobi explained.

The blonde quirked an eyebrow. "And? A lot of people arrive at the main gate."

"This one is… different. Our sensors have all tagged him as the source of the suspicious chakra we have been picking up on over the last several hours." The shinobi explained.

The peaked everyone's interest.

"Is it a Kage from one of the other villages?" Kankuro asked.

"Or a jinchuuriki?" Baki asked.

They all went silent at that question. After everything that happened with the failed invasion of Konoha, Suna was left in a vulnerable state. If there were ever a time for another village to attack them, now would be it. A jinchuuriki was without a doubt the best way to do it too.

"He isn't a Kage. In fact, he wears no symbol of any village. We are still unsure about whether he is a jinchuuriki or not. His chakra capacity would indicate that he is, but our sensors say they are only sensing his own chakra, which means…"

"Which means, that even if this person is a jinchuuriki, his own chakra reserves are great enough to make him a village wide threat." Baki interrupted.

The shinobi nodded. "That is the shared thought at the moment," he said. "But it is actually his companion that is of the most interest."

"I said be brief, not vague," Temari said irritably.

"Forgive me. It appears that his companion is a confirmed subordinate of Orochimaru, one of his personal guard at that. Our men are certain that she aided him in his assassination of the Hokage during the invasion."

Temari clenched her hands. "What the hell is one of them doing here?"

"We aren't sure. All that we know is that she is traveling with this young man, and he has made it very apparent that she is under his protection. Those that have tried to take the girl into custody have all been deterred from doing so by him," the shinobi explained.

"Baki," Temari said, earning the man's complete attention. "Go to the main gate. Find out who this guy is and take Orochimaru's subordinate into custody by any means necessary save for actually killing her. We need whatever information she has. If need be, you have my permission to take the one accompanying her into custody as well."

Baki nodded in understanding and quickly left the office with the other shinobi, leaving only Temari and Kankuro in the room.

"You know, despite my initial apprehension at you being the Kazekage, you sure know how to command people when you need to," Kankuro said in amusement.

"Shut up, Kankuro."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

"Are you fucking shitting me!" Tayuya hissed hatefully at Naruto. "This was your plan? Of all the stupid idea's you could have gone with, you chose this one?"

Naruto glanced sideways at her. "Okay, first of all, I stopped trying to come up with a plan hours before we even got here. Nothing would have worked. This is me trying to wing it. Hopefully things go half alright and we get out of here in one piece."

Tayuya stared at the three unconscious shinobi to the side of them, all of whom had tried to capture her almost as soon as she was identified. While she was glad to see Naruto upholding his word on keeping her safe, it didn't help that the more shinobi he incapacitated, the more showed up as backup. As it was, they were now surrounded by no less than twenty angry Suna shinobi, all looking for an excuse to kill them.

"That would have been easier before you knocked these idiots out," she muttered. "Now we just have to hope that some important prick tries to strike a deal with us. Might want to kill a few of them, speed up the process a little."

The two redheads quickly went silent and focused on the new arrival to the group of shinobi. He was a tall man with a strange headpiece that covered half of his face and judging by how all the others reacted to his presence, he held some sort of authority in the village.

"Who the fuck are you?" Tayuya asked rudely.

"I am Baki," he answered calmly. "Who are you?" he asked back.

"None of your business."

Naruto shook his head. "Manners Tayuya, manners," he chided, smiling at Baki. "Sorry about that. She's not very good at being polite… yet"

"The hell d'ya mean by…" Tayuya tried to say, only to have Naruto clasp a hand over her mouth.

"I'm Naruto. I've actually come here in hopes of meeting the future Kazekage," he explained.

Baki frowned and stared pointedly at Tayuya. "Who is she to you?" he asked.

Naruto's smile fell, his free hand falling gently onto the hilt of his sword as he pulled Tayuya slightly closer to him. "Who is she to you?"

"That girl is one of the personal guards of Orochimaru. She aided him in the assassination of the Sandaime Hokage." Baki said.

"Former personal guard," Naruto said. "I purchased her, so her ties to Orochimaru have been cut. She's my retainer now."

At that comment, all of the shinobi seemed to be even angrier at the two of them.

"Be that as it may, she is still a wanted criminal. Her actions cannot be forgiven or forgotten. She will be taken into custody, whether you like it or not." Baki said sternly.

"Uh, excuse me sir," one of the shinobi said, tapping Baki on the shoulder.

"What is it?"

The man handed Baki a small bundle of papers. "These arrived yesterday. It's the updates Konoha has made to their bingo book. They've sent them to all of the villages."

Baki narrowed his eye at Naruto, the teen eyeing him back in what appeared to be preparation for the worst. Looking down at the papers, he saw that the boys own entry was on top of the pile. To say that Baki wasn't surprised would be lie. Not to say he was shocked by what he was seeing, but he definitely couldn't say he wasn't at least mildly surprised by the boy standing in front of him.

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. Son of the Yondaime Hokage and jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Unregistered shinobi, S-rank threat level. Stated to have single handedly held the entirety of Konoha hostage during an unfortunate visit, with your past accomplishments remaining mostly the same," the jonin listed off calmly, gauging Naruto's reaction. It came as little surprise as the shinobi surrounding them became notably nervous. "Interesting information, but it doesn't answer the question of what you're doing here, or why you chose to apparently purchase one of Orochimaru's subordinates."

"If I said it was a long story, would you let me explain it to the future Kazekage in person," Naruto asked.

"Surrender the girl, and we might be able to arrange something."

Naruto pursed his lips in disappointment. "Such a shame," he muttered, making a single hand seal.

In an instant, the main gate of Sunagakure was flooded with a cloud of smoke. It faded quickly to reveal hundreds of shadow clones, half of which had transformed themselves into perfect copies of Tayuya. Without a second thought, each clone of Naruto picked up a disguised Tayuya clone and took off into the village.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Tayuya yelled, grabbing a fistful of Naruto's hair and turning his head painfully to scream in his ear. "I thought the plan was not to give them reason to kill us outright, you fucking moron!"

"Ow, ow, ow. Dammit Tayuya, let go of my hair."

"No! If you really want me dead that badly, then do it your-fucking-self. Stop dragging me into stupid things that only make my life more difficult!"

Naruto groaned and ducked into an alleyway. Dropping Tayuya to the ground, he pulled out a slip of paper and looked questioningly at her. "Are you going to help me out, or am I going to have to put this seal back on you, tie you up, and leave you somewhere for your own safety?"

Tayuya glowered at him, swatted away the sealing paper, and stood up. "How about telling me just what the fuck you're trying to do first? Drawing this much attention, and acting the way you have, it isn't the best start to any plan that ends with you being seen favourably by Suna."

"Yeah, I know. I messed up on that plan, but I promised that I wouldn't let them touch you. It might take some drastic measures, but I'm sure I can figure this out somehow. My first priority is keeping you safe though, so if need be, we'll just have to skip this village," Naruto said offhandedly, most of his attention being focussed on the immediate hustle and bustle of shinobi and kunoichi that followed his shadow clone antics.

Ignoring the stunned expression on Tayuya's, Naruto went about hastily planning his next step carefully. He begrudgingly admitted to himself that such plans should have been made beforehand. The long journey he and Tayuya had just completed to get here in the first place offered more than enough time for even an idiot to come up with several backup plans to fall back on. Unfortunately, in his childishness, Naruto had forgone forethought, opting instead to devote the entirety of his planning on his surprise gift for Tayuya.

He wasn't sure if the master puppet crafters of Suna were capable combining all of his ideas so far into a single arm for the girl, but he'd try his best to make sure she got some cool upgrades. A paint bomb launcher would have to wait until after he was sure she could be trusted with it though. But even then, he still anticipated some form of revenge from her.

Of course, he would need to get them out of this in a peaceful manner before such things were even a conceivable outcome of reality.

As it was now, every shinobi Suna had to spare was busy hunting down and slaughtering each one of his shadow clones. The memory feedback was a bit of a shocking revelation to deal with in such a situation, but it wasn't mentally debilitating. The warning in the scroll of seals could have still done with a bit of an update. Being the first time Naruto had used the technique on such a massive scale also didn't help him out.

Stopping abruptly in the midst of his frustrated pacing, Naruto gained an expression that straddled the line between a grimace and a cocky smirk. Fishing into one of his pockets, he pulled out the ring he had gotten from Orochimaru. Staring at it oddly for a moment, he sighed and swallowed it; only his will stopped him from vomiting immediately, along with the assurance that he would bash the memory of swallowing a ring worn by Orochimaru out of his head with a brick wall if necessary.

"Fucking gross! You're sick in the head," Tayuya spat, backing away from him in disgust. "I thought you were supposed to be thinking of a plan to get us out of this shit, not swallowing rings that belonged to a paedophile."

Naruto gagged. "Ugh, shut up. I don't need any more reason to feel sick right now."

Tayuya tsk'd. Looking around, she was surprised to see as several shinobi raced past the alleyway they were in, seemingly passing over and beside them as if the alleyway didn't exist at all. A little extra probing led her to a rather unsettling discovery. Everything, absolutely everything, for as far as she could sense, was covered in Naruto's chakra. It was to such an extent that she doubted anyone would be able to pick it up without standing right next to Naruto himself; the difference between the surrounding chakra and his own being so minimal that she could barely register it while standing within four feet of him.

"A Genjutsu?" she mumbled to herself.

"Yep, a Genjutsu," Naruto confirmed. "It's the only reason they haven't found us yet."

"I get that, but why the hell is it so expansive? You're just wasting chakra making a Genjutsu this big."

"Jeez, sorry. Didn't realise you were an expert on Genjutsu. Now why don't you do me a favour and list off the number of jinchuuriki who can even use Genjutsu. While you're at it, explain to me how this is a bad way of doing it since no one but you and me can even sense my chakra as different from everything else in this village. Besides, I can't actually make small Genjutsu. It's go big or go home for me on that one unfortunately."

Tayuya gave him an annoyed and perplexed look. "You used one to knock me out. Doesn't that classify as small?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "I used one to knock out everyone in that town. Well, the non-shinobi ones anyway. Most of it was directed at you, so I assume that everyone with a working understanding of Genjutsu was able to break it easily enough. The civilians though, well; they got a little extra sleep."

"You are without a doubt, the most impractically powerful shinobi I have ever met," she droned, deadpanning at him. "And don't even think about taking that as a compliment," she added quickly, cutting off his inevitable snarky remark.

"Anyway, the point is that it is going to require a lot of tedious effort on Suna's part to find us so long as I keep the Genjutsu active," he explained calmly.

Tayuya's eye twitched. "I swear… before I die… I'm going to kick you so hard in the dick that every perverted thought you have for the rest of your life will be haunted by the pain."

Naruto winced. "A little harsh, don't you think?"

"Not really," she growled, glancing frustratedly at the numerous shinobi now surrounding them.

"Oh yeah, did I mention that we're surrendering?"

"Haunted by it… I promise."

* * *

When Temari had heard of the attempted infiltration of Suna, she had thought it humorous. The whole story made her want to burst into a fit of giggles; mostly due to the absolute stupidity of the attempt, but also somewhat due to the fact it was done by an S-rank shinobi of some notable reputation. It was only the thought of her actually giggling for once in her life that stopped her from doing so. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to wear a stupid grin for the rest of the day.

Said stupid grin, by some miraculous coincidence, was actually working in her favour for the moment, as she walked through the underground passageways that led to the high security prison cells of the village. Every guard that saw her wearing the stupid grin was quick to avoid eye contact, with some of the more pathetic ones even giving her mildly horrified looks. It was as if the stupid expression made them think she was on her way to happily sentence some criminals to death or torture.

Not to say she didn't want to do exactly that, it just wasn't a viable card to play at the moment.

Baki followed her closely from behind as her personal protection. While the prisoners had been stripped of any and all weapons, as well as being fitted with chakra restricting binds, the man simply refused to trust the safety of it all. Temari could recall him saying something about S-ranks never being safe, and something else about a suspicious surrender. Sometimes she was sure that Baki was a little too paranoid about everything.

The two of them continued down through the passageways for quite a while. The distance travelled had Temari assuming that the new prisoners were being kept really far outside of the village walls for the sake of security. They had tried to infiltrate the village, so in a way it made sense to keep them locked up away from their goal. Temari still thought it would have been nice for the prisoners to be escorted to a meeting with her, opposed to her having to walk so far just to see them. It was impractical and frankly quite annoying.

Finally reaching the cellblock that held the new prisoners, Temari turned to follow Baki's lead as he led her straight to the cell that housed the ones she had come to visit. At first, the blonde was less than impressed with what she saw. Two redheads, a younger looking girl, and an older looking boy, with the former clearly keeping her distance from the latter. The fact that they were locked in a single cell together was also a point of interest.

"Why are they locked in together?" Temari asked. "I thought we were strict about keeping men and women separate in confinement?"

Baki grunted. "That is normally the case. But the girl was extremely adamant on being separated from the boy, which made us think they had a plan for such a situation. Keeping them locked in together is the safest way of keeping an eye on both of them, and also disposing of them should they try anything," he explained.

"You know we can hear you fuckers, right?" Tayuya said. "How about actually introducing yourself before being a complete bitch, blondie."

Temari smirked. "I'm Temari. Daughter of the late Kazekage, and the new Kazekage in training," she answered smugly.

Tayuya looked up at the girl in boredom. "In training? What a joke. You're as worthless as a standard kunoichi."

"Don't antagonise her, Tayuya," Naruto said sternly.

Standing up from his spot opposite Tayuya, Naruto walked up to the bars of the cell. Looking down at Temari curiously, he offered her a smile.

"If you don't mind my asking, as the Kazekage to be, do you hold any particular power within this village yet? Like, let's say the power to release me and my retainer here, while also allowing us into Suna?" he asked politely.

"Unfortunately, such powers are not yet mine," Temari replied. "Even if they were, why would I release either of you? She is a known subordinate of Orochimaru, and one of the select few who no doubt aided in the assassination of my father. You are an unknown threat, who not only is protecting her, but also is apparently capable of holding entire village's hostage on a whim. Merely having you two try to break into the village is grounds enough to have the both of you executed on sight. You should be glad that you're even alive."

"And why the fuck are we alive?" Tayuya asked. "You gunna sell us off to get our bounties?"

Baki hummed. "Wouldn't be a bad idea. Suna isn't exactly in the best condition financially. The girl wouldn't fetch much in the big picture of it all, but the boy has an exceptional bounty. Certain parties in Konoha have already voiced their desire for the boy's safe capture. We could bargain his safe transfer for more aid from them," he suggested to Temari.

Temari stayed silent as she thought it over. As she did so, she stared intently into Naruto's eyes, immediately picking up on the playful intelligence in them. She had heard about him many times before. The son of the Yondaime Hokage; cursed and abandoned by his parents in an act of desperation, to save the very village that went on to scorn and neglect him. His reputation since leaving Konoha had been slow growing, but notably linear in regards to his actions. Her father had voiced his wish to hire the rogue jinchuuriki. The boy's apparent knack for irregular mercenary work being of some interest to many high up individuals.

He was, for the most part, a mystery to everyone. No one knew where he was going, what he wanted, what his goals were, or even how to contact him. All of his assignments having been obtained by mere chance of meeting between himself and a client. He was erratic and dangerous in the most unnerving way.

At least, he was, until he disappeared.

For just over two years, he was simply gone. Then he returned, out of the blue. His assignments from then on were far more organised. He had a sense of direction and order to his actions. Rumours went around about his newfound allegiance to one of the village's. His services now purchasable through a long and complex system that no one was able to trace. For a while, he was easy to ignore.

That all changed just under a year ago. He disappeared again in what now seemed to be an on and off situation. He would show up in random places, and then disappear just as quickly. And now, his most recent show was in Konoha, where he held the whole village hostage, resulting in his rank rising to that of S. It was the kind of blatant display of power and disregard for life that got many men and women killed immediately for insanity.

Looking at him now, Temari was more than aware that Naruto wasn't insane. She had seen insanity first hand and he wasn't even close. But he was still powerful, reckless, and held very little concern for the lives and wellbeing of others. In fact, his protectiveness of the girl he was with was the first time she had ever heard of him showing any direct interest in anyone other than his targets. Such an obvious stray from his normal ways was something worth looking into.

"Baki, go and check on Gaara," Temari said calmly, not breaking eye contact with Naruto.

The jonin frowned. "You expect me to leave you here with them, alone?" he asked.

Temari smirked. "Yes, I do. Now go. The quicker you check on Gaara, the sooner you'll be back here to watch over me."

The man didn't put up much of an argument, briskly walking off deeper into the tunnels. His absence left only silence as Temari and Naruto continued with their staring contest, something that had Tayuya rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"You have something to say?" Temari asked curiously.

Naruto grinned. "You've already surmised that selling me off to Konoha would be a bad idea. They might pay you, but that's as far as it would go. The whole village is probably well aware of my being a jinchuuriki, so I doubt that too many people would see the money as a fair trade for such a powerful weapon."

Temari snarled at him. "Don't refer to jinchuuriki as weapons!" she spat. "Even if you are one, I won't let you just disregard their humanity!"

"Interesting," he said in pleasant surprise. "You said you were the previous Kazekage's daughter, which I guess means that your brother is the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi. Last I heard the boy was insane. Tore Konoha up pretty badly before he was stopped. Doesn't sound like the most stable shinobi to be housing a Bijuu of all things, even if it is only the weakest one."

"My brother's state of mind is not his fault," Temari growled.

Naruto shrugged. "Didn't say it was," he said. "But before we delve too deep into things, I just want you to know that I like you. Not too often I find people who are completely humane towards those like me. I can tell from the way you look at me. Even now, you aren't thinking about my condition. You're still only judging me as an ordinary person."

Temari rolled her eyes. "And why did you need to tell me that?"

"Because," Naruto said, his face falling into a far more serious expression. "If your village makes the mistake of not letting me and Tayuya go, or if they decide to be complete idiots and kill either one of us… well, I just wanted to say that I will not be held responsible for what comes as a result."

Tayuya looked up at the two in curiosity, finally intrigued by what was being said.

Temari matched Naruto's serious stare. "And what, exactly, could possibly happen as a result? You and her are both useless in this state. Neither one of you will be causing any problems for the village. Konoha might be upset if we kill you, but what can they really do? They let you walk out of their control. You are labelled as a rogue ninja. We are well within our rights to kill you, and no one can say anything about it."

"It's not the villages you'll have to worry about. It's the ones that actually want me alive," he said coldly. "Being one of the few people physically capable of containing the Kyuubi, as well as my rather impressive lineage, makes me a highly valuable person to several powerful people. People that would have very little care about this village's survival on their inevitable quest to destroy everyone involved in my death. Hell, they might not even get a chance. I could break my own seal in an instant. The Kyuubi itself could be this village's undoing if you aren't careful."

"You really think I'm going to believe any of that. Even if there were people who wanted you alive, they couldn't possibly be capable of taking on an entire village for your sake alone. As for your seal, which was constructed by arguably the most proficient seal master of our time, I really doubt that you could simply break it and unleash the Kyuubi into the village," Temari said irritably. "Just drop the act while you still have your dignity. Bluffing won't work for you."

Naruto shook his head and sighed. "I'm warning you. Let Tayuya and me go, or else. You think Suna is in a bad state now. Just wait until it's nothing but rubble in the sand, swept away by the desert. Money and pride mean nothing in death, so I suggest you think about what you're going to do."

Temari would love to say that she was unfazed by his words of warning. She would love to saunter off without a care in the world. But she couldn't. A threat of such proportions was simple insanity coming from most people. A desperate bluff in their fading hope of escape. But an S-rank jinchuuriki wasn't most people. His threat, no matter how farfetched, could hold too much merit to disregard. That alone made her uneasy about the whole thing. Just what kind of people really did want him alive, and just how powerful were they.

"Temari," Baki said from behind her, drawing her out of her deep thought. "Gaara is… the same as usual."

She nodded in understanding and turned to look sternly at Naruto. "You will be kept alive. We will study your seal to the best of our ability for our own benefit in the art of Fūinjutsu," she said with finality.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "And Tayuya?"

"I never cared much for my father. He was a cruel and power hungry moron. But he was still the Kazekage. Her role in his assassination, along with the deception of our village into attacking our own ally, doesn't leave much leeway. She will executed at a time decided upon by the council as a whole, or perhaps even sold off to Konoha. Either way, you had best say your goodbyes tonight. Suna is not known for its slothfulness in executions."

Temari and Baki quickly walked away, leaving Naruto and Tayuya to their own silence.

Tayuya snorted. "I fucking told you this would happen. But no, you couldn't listen to me. That'd be stupid, wouldn't it? Now you're going to be a nice little lab rat, and I'm going to be killed. Fan-fucking-tastic."

Naruto sighed. Walking back over to his spot of the cell, he sat back down and smiled at Tayuya. "Don't worry. You won't die."

"Don't be a fuckwit. We've been caught. Neither one of us can do anything. I'm going to die, and it's all your stupid fucking fault," she said angrily. "Why the hell couldn't you have just killed me when you fucking found me?"

He continued to smile at her. "I'll show you once we get out of here."

Tayuya growled at him. "Did you not fucking hear that bitch? We are both screwed. I'm being executed. Stop saying we're getting out of this. You're fucked, and I'm dead. That's it. There are no ifs or buts about it."

"You aren't going to die, Tayuya."

"And how the fuck are you so sure of that?"

Naruto grinned stupidly at her. "Because I promised you that I wouldn't let them kill you, and I never break my promises," he said.

Tayuya tsk'd and looked away.

 _'I never break my promises'_ he assured himself. His eyes taking on a distinct red tint as the chakra binding seals placed on him began to burn away. _'Not anymore'_

* * *

"Is something bothering you?" a woman asked softly, her amber eyes glancing sideways towards the large open window.

The rain that usually blanketed the village was much heavier than it normally was. To most, it was merely a turn in the weather, but to her, it was a sign that her friend was troubled by something. Turning her attention to the man resting his chin on his hands, she could tell that he was thinking too hard about something. While not exactly unusual for him, this seemed to be a little out of place in the scheme of things.

"Nagato?"

The man sighed deeply. "An unforeseen complication has developed in Suna. It seems that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki has resurfaced once again. He is drawing more unnecessary attention to himself than we expected him to," he said.

"Is it a problem?" she asked.

"For the moment, no," he replied. "He has been captured and is being held underneath the village. Sasori's contacts say that he should be relatively safe, but there are other things at play that have me concerned. Apparently, he now has a companion. A young girl. For whatever reason, he is protecting her. Suna plans on executing her for her crimes."

The woman quirked an eyebrow. "Is she valuable to us?" she inquired. "I can understand potentially using her to gain possession of the jinchuuriki, but otherwise her life is of no concern to us."

"She is not valuable to us alive, but she is a great hindrance to us if they kill her," Nagato explained. "Should the jinchuuriki react badly to her execution, I can only imagine that he will erupt in an effort to save her. Such an act will result in one of two things; the Kyuubi jinchuuriki will be destroyed, and with him, our hopes of obtaining the ninth Bijuu. Or, Suna will be obliterated from existence, and with it the Ichibi and its own jinchuuriki. Neither outcome is to our liking. The setback alone will be… annoying."

"What should we do then?"

"We have no teams close enough to launch an attack and break them out, and it is too early for me to reveal myself to the world in such a way. I need someone who can be discreet and free the jinchuuriki without any traces or repercussions on our end," he said, looking up at her. "We need them free before anything drastic takes place. If Suna messes around with the boy's seal, we could lose the Kyuubi completely."

She nodded in understanding. "I'll leave immediately. The sooner I get there, the less people will get in my way," she said, turning to walk away.

"Konan," Nagato said, stopping her at the door. "Be careful."

Konan only nodded in response before leaving. She continued on her way down several halls, her thoughts focussed on the boy who she was going to rescue. Just what kind of person was he? Did he have friends? Was the girl he was with his friend? Just who was it that they were going to be sentencing to death for their own gain? What dreams were they destroying with him? Just how many lives would they need to destroy to finally make the world see peace?

It was always something she had a personal problem with regarding Nagato's plan. She never liked the idea of killing those who had already been dealt such a harsh life, but it was simply something she and the others had to deal with. Not as if any of the others were bothered by it to the same extent as she was. The shinobi they allowed into their ranks were not what anyone would call humane. So few of the stronger shinobi ever were. At least for now, Konan could comfort herself with the knowledge that she was saving one of the jinchuuriki instead of condemning them.

It was just unfortunate that this would likely be the only time she could do so.

* * *

 **A/N:**

So this chapter took a much longer time to get finished than I originally planned. Sadly, a lot of shit happened and I just didn't have the time to sit down and get it done. Luckily, thanks to all the minor flooding happening down here in Australia, I have been stuck inside, with nothing left to do but write. Thank god for that one or else this would have taken a while longer. Overall, this probably isn't my best writing. It's really more of a setting the scene chapter anyway, so I'm not too worried. Next chapter is where shit really gets serious. Also, I feel that Konan was one of the most underused characters of the show and manga, so I'm gunna try make her more important. I have the outline for a plan regarding how I'm going to go about that, and hopefully you guys like it.

In other news, the review count reached over a hundred. Didn't expect it to reach that until at least chapter twelve, so I'm absolutely ecstatic. Keep 'em coming guys, they mean a lot. Idea's and suggestions are also still welcome.

I make no promises on the date of the next chapter, but hopefully it wont take as long as this one did.

Till next time guys.

Soul out!


	9. Collision Course

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own my OC's and original jutsu and other such nonsense. Permission before use please, or at least a reference.

* * *

Jiraiya stared intently at the large wall before him. It was a truly impressive thing to see, no matter how many times he saw it. The valley formed by a combination of monstrous sized rocks and extremely high cliff faces in which the village of Suna rested was without a doubt a tactically advantageous position. Whether or not the valley was naturally formed or created through the Ninjutsu efforts of the first generation of Sunagakure settlers was something up for debate. The origins of such defences were a relatively sought after piece of information since Suna had yet to be effectively breached by an attacking force.

Personally, Jiraiya had his own theory about it, revolving around the first Kazekage managing to force the Ichibi into unearthing the massive stone structures for him to carve out into a valley for his village. A rather farfetched idea, but the Sannin still liked it; likely an unfortunate side effect of his writers imagination.

"Are we just going to stand here and stare at rocks all day?"

Jiraiya frowned and turned to stare disapprovingly at the small group of genin behind him. "I'm paying you. If I say we're going to stare at rocks, then I don't want to hear any complaints."

"Ugh, what a drag. And here I thought I'd be able to take my mind off of things with this mission," Shikamaru grumbled, "At least tell us what we're doing out here."

"Yeah, just what could be so important that you had to drag us to this horrible place? My skin is going to be ruined," a blonde girl whined, holding an umbrella over her head.

The toad sage groaned and turned the last of the trio. "Want to add your part too?"

The brown haired girl shrugged, twirling a kunai around her finger. "Not really. A mission is a mission. But now would be a good time to explain to us why we're in Suna," she said casually.

"Well, at least one of you acts somewhat like a shinobi," Jiraiya muttered. "As for why we're here, I'd like to keep it classified, so telling any of you would be a bad idea normally. But you won't be any use to me if you don't at least know the basics. In short, we are here looking for leads on the possible whereabouts of one Naruto Namikaze," he explained.

The blonde girl tilted her head curiously. "Namikaze? As in the Yondaime?"

"He's talking about the Yondaime's son, Ino," the brunette clarified.

"Is he cute?" Ino asked.

The girl sighed. "Not what we're here for, Ino."

Ino smirked. "So what? Aren't you curious to know if the guy we're hunting is cute?"

"Ino, stop pestering Tenten," Shikamaru said sternly, glaring at Jiraiya. "Tsunade said that no one was to go looking for Naruto. You hired us under false pretences, meaning we have the right to walk away from this mission."

"I hired you for a surveillance mission. That is all I need you three to do. I don't intend for any of you to get caught up in any of the problems that my end goal will bring, so don't worry about that," Jiraiya explained. "As for the surveillance itself, you won't be looking for Naruto himself, which thankfully gets us all off the hook from Tsunade's wrath."

"If we aren't searching for Naruto, then who are we searching for?" Tenten asked.

Jiraiya crossed his arms and took a deep breath. "We are looking for a girl named Tayuya," he said seriously, "One of the Otogakure shinobi that aided in Sasuke Uchiha's escape, and also the one responsible for the death of Chōji Akimichi, if the reports are accurate."

By this point, it was very obvious that the two girls on the team were out for blood, with Shikamaru still only glaring at Jiraiya.

"What is she still doing alive in the first place?" Ino hissed.

"She is being protected… by Naruto. Jiraiya is hoping to use our desire for justice and vengeance to track Tayuya down, and in turn, lead him to Naruto," Shikamaru surmised. "A clever plan. But also a stupid one. The issue with Tayuya was settled by Chōji's father. Even he said she was free to go. As if that was even the problem. There is no way that Naruto will let us take her alive. God help us if we kill her."

Ino rounded on Shikamaru in rage. "Are you saying we should just let her get away with it? Chōji was your best friend! How can you be so calm knowing that his murderer is still walking free?" she yelled.

"Shikamaru is right," Jiraiya interjected, earning Ino's and Tenten's attention. "Tayuya was indeed allowed to walk free by Chōji's father. However, she is still a wanted criminal for other reasons. She can still be captured and taken in. Anything that might help further my own personal goals would be a mere happy coincidence and not anything that Tsunade could hold against us."

"I'm in!" Ino exclaimed.

Tenten gripped her kunai tightly. "So am I."

Jiraiya smiled widely. "Brilliant! Head to the main gate and go in ahead of us. See what you can find out and report back to me later this afternoon. I need to have a chat with Shikamaru here."

The girls didn't argue, blinded by their momentary rage as they quickly made their way towards Suna's main gate. Jiraiya and Shikamaru took part in a short staring contest before the Sannin finally broke the tension.

"Look kid, it would be in everyone's best interest if you just went along with this. You're smart, so I know that you know those two won't have much self-control if we happen to find Tayuya. As you said, killing her would be a very bad decision, so I'm relying on you to hold those two in check if things get hairy," Jiraiya said. "Naruto will kill the three of you if you get involved."

The Nara narrowed his eyes. "Then why did you tell them who she was? Why rile them up, knowing that they would be after Tayuya's head?" he asked.

Jiraiya frowned. "If I hadn't, then the three of you would already be on your way back to Konoha. I saw it as soon as I mentioned Naruto. None of you were interested in hunting down an S-rank shinobi. It would be suicide, and also against Tsunade's wishes. But Tayuya is a different story. I'm surprised you of all people are so against it. Don't you at least want to see the girl tried and punished appropriately for what she did? Or are you content with letting your best friend's death being for nothing?"

Shikamaru clenched his fists and walked past Jiraiya. "If either of them dies, their blood is on your hands."

The Sannin nodded in acceptance and followed the boy towards the village. Unbeknownst to the two of them, a pair of bright amber eyes observed them as the half-formed torso of Konan floated up in the air, surrounded by a cloud of paper squares that were camouflaged to match the sky. The blue haired woman watched them walk off with some interest until they were out of sight. Allowing her body to collapse back into nothing but paper, she quickly flew over the impressive walls that surrounded the village.

It became embarrassingly apparent that Suna put minimal thought into being attacked from the sky as the large cloud of paper squares all flew down into an outskirt alleyway. The paper converged and the pieces all began layering themselves on top of each other until the full form of Konan stood in their place. Intending on keeping a low profile, the Angel of Ame had forgone her Akatsuki cloak, replacing it with a baggy brown one with a hood.

She calmly made her way towards the centre of the village, stopping a short while before reaching it and entering an unassuming apartment building. Knocking on one of the doors, it opened to reveal a blank faced shinobi whose appearance was best described as plain and dull. Overall, he was the perfect puppet spy. One of many that Sasori had planted throughout the elemental nations. It was a little barbaric to completely erase someone's personality and turn them into a hollow shell to be programmed for the puppet masters own purposes, but it was effective and unrivalled by anyone else's spy network.

The man was quick let her in upon realising who she was and locked the door behind her. Konan sat herself down in one of the chairs available in the small apartment, being joined by the man shortly after as he sat across from her.

"Where is the jinchuuriki being held?" she asked.

"The jinchuuriki is being held in one of the high security cells underground, based outside of the village walls," the man answered, his voice an emotionless and almost robotic drone.

"And his companion?"

"She is being held in the same cell. Her execution is still currently being decided," he replied. "The cell is only accessible from a single passageway leading straight from the Kazekage tower. You would need to get into there first. An alternative would be to break the cell from outside, leaving the jinchuuriki to escape of his own accord. A sufficient amount of high powered explosive tags set off above the cell should be enough to draw attention away from them and also jeopardise the cell itself."

Konan nodded. She wasn't even surprised at the knowledge this man possessed. Sasori didn't deal with those he couldn't use to his own benefit. Putting spies in key location of every kind was something the man was inherently skilled at, and the results of such actions were clearly to Akatsuki's benefit right now. However, even if she gave the jinchuuriki a distraction and ample opportunity to escape, there was no assurance that he would take it. On top of that, there was also now another unforeseen problem.

"Jiraiya of the Sannin has arrived in the village with a team of genin. Is there any chance that the Kazekage will allow him to visit the jinchuuriki?" she asked.

The man looked at her blankly for a moment. "It is a possibility. However, it is also unlikely. This particular cellblock is located near the cell used to hold the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi. The new Kazekage to be is the jinchuuriki's brother. As a renowned seal master, it is unlikely that the Sannin will be allowed near the Ichibi's container out of fear of him tampering with things. Many would fear the man holds a grudge over his sensei's death, in which Suna played a role."

"Is there anyone that would be able to sell that idea to the ones in charge? I will need a little time to set things up and I cannot afford Jiraiya getting involved."

"Master Sasori does have a member of the council under his command. I will contact him and inform him of your request," the man said, standing and bowing to her politely.

Konan watched him walk out of the apartment with an emotionless expression. Once the door closed, she let out a heavy sigh. This mission would not end well. With Jiraiya in the village no doubt seeking the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and with the only exit of the prison cells being the Kazekage tower, then a confrontation between the two was inevitable. She couldn't afford to wait it out and hope that Jiraiya would leave empty handed, time simply wasn't on her side for that and the Sannin wouldn't leave without the boy.

What was supposed to be a simple breakout was quickly turning into something a little more complicated. But that wouldn't deter her from her task. One way or another, Konan would ensure the safe escape of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Nagato was counting on her, their dream was counting on her. If she failed now, then Yahiko would have died for nothing, and if that wasn't reason enough to ensure her success, than she didn't know what was. The only question she had left was just how much her success was going to cost.

How much more of her humanity could she lock away for the sake of a dream?

* * *

Jiraiya glared at the young girl sitting in front of him, an annoyed but interested expression on her face as she observed both himself and Shikamaru. "Would you mind repeating that? I'm not sure if I heard you correctly."

Temari looked at him lazily. "Of course. I said that you aren't allowed to visit the prisoner. Naruto Namikaze attempted to infiltrate this village with what was perceived as ill intent, which gives us the right to keep him on complete lockdown until such a time that we deem he is not a threat. That includes refusing your request of visitation, despite being family, blood or otherwise," she said.

"If you find that reason to be unsatisfactory, then please, take your pick of any other you'd like. Your abrupt appearance in the village, without any warning whatsoever, with a suspicious level of intuition on the whereabouts of the aforementioned criminal, or perhaps your record of being arrogant and absorbed in your own self-righteous ways. You have a bad habit of ignoring everything in favour of doing what you feel is right. How do I know that your idea of 'right' won't involve any harm towards my village or its people?"

"We are talking about a time-bomb here!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "That seal's strength is proportional to Naruto's mental strength. Emotional distress will only weaken it further. If you don't let me see him… if I can't tighten the seal… then he could very well unleash hell upon this village."

Temari scoffed. "How stupid. The Yondaime Hokage would never be that careless with his own son, or the safety of innocents. And besides, Naruto tried to use the same bluff," she said, rolling her eyes. "If I thought there was any merit to it, I would have released him myself. But hearing the same useless bluff twice is annoying. If you want to see your godson, then you will wait patiently until our seal masters have studied the seal containing the Kyuubi."

"You have no right to that knowledge!" he yelled.

The blonde snapped her fingers. In the blink of an eye, Jiraiya was surrounded by four Suna ANBU, all with barely visible blades of wind extending from their fingers to the Sannin's throat. Temari stood up from her chair and walked up to Jiraiya, glaring up at him in contempt.

"For generations, Konoha has held the upper hand in sealing techniques. From the basics, all the way to sealing away the Bijuu. Since the days of the first Hokage, Konoha has always been the strongest. But I am not about to let that continue. Not when that knowledge could stop suffering among my own village," she said. "For years, my own brother has suffered at the hands of the obsolete sealing techniques that bind the Ichibi within him. My father was too proud to request help; he wouldn't let anyone else know of his weapon. I, however, did ask. I begged, pleaded for the Hokage to send you here to correct my brother seal, to ease his suffering. Do you know what the reply was?"

Jiraiya didn't say anything. He could already assume as to what Tsunade would have said to such a request. His silence didn't help stop the pang of guilt he felt.

"The Hokage said she _wished_ she could help," Temari growled. "The only reason she couldn't, was because you, the only one with the skills to deal with jinchuuriki seals, were too busy chasing after your godson," she smirked. "I guess it's just a fortunate turn of events that I now have him locked away under the village. A most perfect bargaining chip if there ever was one, and one that I intend to use to the fullest of its potential."

The Sannin frowned. "You're playing a dangerous game, girl."

"Our occupation is a dangerous game at the best of times. While not to the same extent as you, I am quite acclimatised to it," she replied. "If you truly want to see Naruto again, then you would be wise to avoid trying anything stupid. And of course, helping to correct my brother's seal would go a long way in speeding up the process. Until then, you are free to stay in the village. Now get out."

Jiraiya was quick to leave the room, followed closely by the ANBU. Shikamaru stayed behind, both he and Temari waiting silently for the other to close the door behind them, leaving the two alone.

The blonde slumped in her seat. "Please tell me I'm not making a mistake with all of this," she said, looking almost hopefully towards the Nara.

Shikamaru smirked at her. "Jiraiya is stubborn and apparently stupid at times, if this quest of his is of any indication. But he isn't dumb enough to go against the orders of a future Kage," he said reassuringly. "With the other stuff though… I'd say you're making the right decision. Family is important, and the people of your village will back you further once they find out what you're doing for the sake of saving your brother. Love is a very human and easily relatable trait."

"I wasn't talking about how it was going to help me solidify my place as Kage. I was talking about everything else," Temari said softly. "Just tell me, friend to friend, what you think I should do with what I have at hand here."

"You seriously want someone from another village to tell you what to do?" he asked curiously.

"As a suggestion, Shikamaru, not an order. Don't get ahead of yourself. You have a _long_ way to go before you can start telling me what to do."

Shikamaru hummed thoughtfully. "Honestly, if I was in your position, I'd let Naruto go."

Temari deadpanned at him. "Really?"

"Yes, really," he said.

"And what about the girl, Tayuya?"

He took a deep breath. "While I would like nothing more than to endorse your village's decision to execute her… I can't. Her release should be assured alongside Naruto's if you wish for any peaceful outcome."

Temari was understandably hard pressed to take the boy's words seriously. "Just let them go? Both of them? I hope you have a little more to say than just that."

"Naruto has already proven he is smarter than anyone has really given him credit for. He was able to hold Konoha's very existence in his hands as if it were nothing. Someone like that doesn't just get caught without having a plan in motion. He came here for something and he either already has it, or is going to get it whether we like it or not. Whatever it is, it's probably best to let him leave with it, find out what it was, and act accordingly. Overreacting to his presence now is the best way to miss something important, and it's probably what he was betting would happen when he came here."

"So you think we're playing into his hand," she said thoughtfully.

"It's possible," Shikamaru said. "Right now we're basing things off limited information. Naruto is too much of an unknown to accurately make guesses as to his intentions, or anything else for that matter. You said you talked to him, right. Did he say anything that might have hinted at what he might try?"

Temari grunted. "Not really. He made that same stupid bluff that Jiraiya did, and then he drabbled some crap about people being interested in his survival. A bit desperate for someone like him if you ask me."

Shikamaru froze, his thoughts going back to the day he was present at the council meeting with Naruto. "Temari… how many people know where Naruto is being held?"

"Um, a few, I guess. It's not really a secret where he keep the prisoners," she said. "Why?"

"You need to relocate them immediately," he said urgently.

"Woah, what's the problem now?" she asked. "It's not like anyone can get to him."

"Is the cell directly under the village?"

"Well, no. We're holding them outside the village walls for safety reasons. It's only accessible from a tunnel underneath this tower."

"But what about from above?"

Temari gave him a stupid look. "You would have to get through a lot of sand and solid stone to get down there. But they would still need to know the exact spot to dig," she said. "I really think you're overthinking this."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right," he mumbled. "Sorry, I just haven't been having the best time recently."

"Don't worry about it. I heard what happened to your friend. I'm amazed you're even out on the field so quickly afterwards. Although it isn't the first time you've surprised me."

"Chōji wouldn't want me to waste time mourning over his death."

"Either way, I would hope you use your time here to relax."

Shikamaru smirked at her. "I use my time everywhere to relax. I thought you would have figured that out by now," he said, walking to the door.

"Hmm, true. I don't think I've seen you stress about anything," Temari said with her own smirk. "And who knows, maybe while you're stuck here you'll drop 'round and interrupt my working hours."

The Nara shrugged. "I wouldn't worry. I won't distract you."

He closed the door behind him before Temari could say anything else, leaving the blonde to hang her head in despair. "It was a request, you ass," she said, staring at the paperwork on her desk, each printed word being but another splinter of the wood that would make up the coffin for her mind.

With a loud groan, she let her head fall hard to the desk. "I already hate this job."

* * *

Tayuya looked up when she heard the cell door being opened. Three men entered, one of them closing the door behind them before each of them simply stared at her with blatantly unfriendly intentions. The sadistic grins on their faces only insinuated the two probable outcomes of torture, or rape. Considering there was three of them, Tayuya doubted that either outcome would be a separate act.

One of the men, obviously the group leader, laughed at her. "You're one of the ones that helped kill our Kazekage? What a joke. You're just a little brat," he said.

"That doesn't change anything," one of the others said sternly, glaring at the redhead.

"You're right, it doesn't change anything," the leader said with a sadistic glimmer in his eye. "Or rather, it won't change what we're going to do; only how much I'm going to enjoy it. The young ones always do scream the loudest."

Tayuya snarled at him. "Try your best, you fucker. A piece of shit like you couldn't make me scream. But if it makes you any happier, I did almost vomit looking at your disgusting mug."

The third man was the first to react, walking to her and reaching down with the intent of gripping her throat. Tayuya grabbed his hand and twisted it with practiced ease, his wrist snapping audibly before she unleashed a vicious kick to the man's more sensitive parts. As he fell to his knees, Tayuya got to her feet. Wrapping her arm under his chin, she grabbed a fistful of his hair as she used her arm and body to single handedly jerk his head sharply, breaking his neck.

The leader was at her side quickly, aiming a sloppy punch for her face. She ducked under it, delivering a punch of her own to his pride and joy. Tayuya did momentarily consider the moral ramifications of dishing out two nut shots in such a short time period, but since her chakra was sealed, and she was down an arm, she didn't really have many more options at her disposal. That didn't stop her from hooking her thumb into the man's eye as he lurched over in pain, his screams of agony echoing through the tunnels of the prison cells.

The last of the three finally made himself useful, grabbing Tayuya by the throat and wrist and pinning her to the wall while his friend recovered from his rather sudden eye check. It was this exact moment that Tayuya realised just how much of a drastic disadvantage she was at without her left arm, the remaining stump of said limb doing sweet fuck all as she pathetically bashed at the man's arm with it.

"You little cunt!" the leader screamed, cupping his bleeding eye with one hand while cradling his balls with his other. "We were just going to have some fun with you before killing you, but now I'm going to make sure you die in agony. Fuck letting you get off easy. Tie her up and knock her out, we're taking her with us. We can just leave him here and say she escaped," he said to his friend, gesturing to their dead comrade. Glaring at Tayuya, he forced a crazed grin. "I'm gunna drag it out for as long as I can, you bitch. By the time I'm done, you'll wish you never even lived in the first place. A fair punishment for killing our Kage, and taking my fucking eye!" he screamed, throwing a punch at her.

Blood splattered across Tayuya's face, a wet thud following the surprise shower. The man stared at her in shock, his wide eye slowly inching their way down to where his arm had been viciously ripped from his shoulder. His screams become gurgled cries before they could truly form, blood pooling rapidly at his feet as two bright red eyes peered over his shoulder.

Naruto tossed the man to the side, a sickening squelch following the removing of his hand from the man's back. Red chakra cloaked him like a second skin, only bulging from his body to form the single swishing tail behind him and the long ears atop his head. If not for those two new extremities, he would have simply appeared to be glowing red. Unfortunately, such a perfectly refined chakra cloak was only possible while using a single tail of his Bijuu's chakra.

Speaking of tails, Naruto absentmindedly took control of his own fast enough to have it whip around and cleave the remaining man's head off before he could snap out of shock and no doubt do something to Tayuya in retaliation. His body hit the floor with another wet thud, leaving a shocked and blood covered Tayuya to lean against the wall for support.

Pushing herself off the wall, Tayuya walked up to Naruto and poked him. "You…"

"Yeah, I know. I saved you're life. Not important right now. We need to get out of here before something really bad goes down."

"You…" Tayuya mumbled, her shocked expression immediately morphing into one of rage. "You fucking bastard!" she yelled, driving her fist into his gut.

"What the hell!"

"You could still use chakra? This whole fucking time?" she screamed furiously. "Why the fuck didn't you do anything sooner? Those creepy fucks were going to rape me!"

Naruto pointed to the man she had killed. "You seem to be capable of taking care of yourself. Besides, doing this takes time and concentration, more so since my chakra was sealed."

The girl wiped the blood off her face and glared at him. "Fine. I'll accept that," she said, before punching him in the face. "But that still doesn't change the fact that it was your stupidity that got us stuck here in the first place! I fucking told you what would happen if we came here! And now what? We're just going to break out. Brilliant fucking plan! Between these dead cunts, and everything else, we'll be wanted by Suna for years!"

"Possibly. But I'm kinda hoping that things from this point play out to our benefit," he said.

Tayuya growled at him. "Stop being delusional!" she yelled. "Fuck it! You do whatever you fucking want. I'm outa here. Fuck you, and fuck everyone else. I'll go to the land of iron and forget all of you bastards even exist."

Naruto ignored her. "Uh-huh, sounds like a good plan," he said, sticking a piece of blue coloured paper to the wall.

"What the…? Where'd you get that?"

"If I said that it fell into my lap, would you believe me?"

"No."

"Well, it flew into the cell last night. This was stuck to it," he said, handing her a smaller piece of plain paper with a message neatly written on it.

Snatching the paper from his hand, Tayuya read it out loud. " _Place blue paper on wall before leaving. Distraction will occur shortly afterwards. Do not be in tunnels during distraction,_ " she read. "Yeah, because you know, that doesn't sound like a trap at all."

Naruto shrugged, his cloak of red chakra receding back into him. "No, you're right about that. It's definitely a trap. I'm just not sure what kind of trap it's going to be. Considering that it requires us to be broken out of prison, I'd like to say it's going to be an interesting kind of trap."

"And we're walking into it, why?"

"Because we aren't going to get another chance to just walk out of this prison, and I'm not comfortable with just waiting for them to drag you off to be executed. As good of a distraction that might be for my own escape, I'm standing by my promise to keep you safe," Naruto said. Placing his hands over the chakra restricting seals on her wrists, Naruto quickly removed them. "There, now let's get moving before we miss the distraction."

With that said, he casually walked over to the cell door. In an impressive display of physical strength, he ripped the door off its hinges and tossed it aside. Without looking back at Tayuya, Naruto walked off into the tunnels, quickly disappearing from the girl's sight. Tayuya didn't move to follow after him, choosing to instead stare into the distance. Her thoughts were muddled and unsettled by something she hadn't felt in years. A combination of hope and fear filled her as she pinpointed the exact event that had invoked the feeling before.

The day Orochimaru had saved her and promised to take care of her.

While it did dig up some old and uncomfortable memories and emotions from her early life spent with the snake Sannin, Tayuya couldn't deny that Naruto's own promise of keeping her safe didn't help to ease her mind. Being older, and arguably wiser than she had been when Orochimaru had made a similar promise, Tayuya was confident in her ability to deduce any vile or underhanded intentions hidden within such things. Naruto's promise, while rather sudden and childish with all things considered, was as pure hearted a promise as Tayuya had ever heard… and it annoyed the ever-living shit out of her.

How someone so powerful could ever reach his age and still be stupid and naïve enough to not only trust someone like her, but to even promise to protect them, was beyond her. It was an infuriating trait that seemed to follow strong shinobi born in Konoha and Tayuya hated it. Still, her hatred of it couldn't completely burn away the nagging in the back of her mind. The stupid little voice yelling at her to follow him, to hold on to possibly the only person that had ever shown her kindness with no agenda or expectations of repayment.

It also didn't help that his brutal killing of her attackers had kind of turned her on. Her urges of survival and desire for acceptance were joined by the urge and desire for something that left her fighting back a blush. Cursing her stupid urges, Tayuya regained control of her thoughts and stormed towards the tunnels Naruto had walked into.

 _'It's for my survival. That's it. Nothing else.'_ she assured herself. _'I will not be distracted by something as pathetic as bodily urges. I'm better than that god dammit!'_

"Argh! How fast are you walking, you fucker!" she yelled, running after him.

* * *

Some distance from the walls of Sunagakure, Konan waited patiently. With the calm gentleness that helped earn her title of angle of Ame, she slowly weaved through a long string of hand seals. A tiny pulse beneath her feet indicated that the jinchuuriki had followed her instructions, the piece of paper she had sent to him letting her know the exact location of the prison cell under the ground.

Without breaking concentration on her hand seals, Konan walked until she was positioned directly above the cell. Completing them, she fixed her hands into the final seal, her chakra moulding rapidly as hundreds of paper squares flew out of her cloak and the several pouches strapped to her waist. The paper swarmed around her in a frenzy, each folding to the required shape until all finally connected into a giant seal floating just above the sand.

The seal pulsed a bright blue before Konan was engulfed in a sea of exploding tags. In a seemingly endless stream, the tags continued to flow from the seal, building up into a giant cloud of paper and death. In an instant, the flow stopped, every single piece of paper freezing in place in the air as Konan gently grabbed one between her fingers. Igniting it, she placed it on the ground before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

She reappeared back in the dull apartment of Sasori's personal spy, mere moments passing before the whole village began to shake, and the ground rumbled loudly. Several seconds later found the village being shook violently as the sounds of several buildings and streets collapsing into the tunnels below roared through the valley. Explosions erupted up from the newly formed cracks strewn throughout the village, inciting chaos and destruction everywhere.

Konan pulled her hood over her head and walked out into the chaos of the streets. The screams of the villagers soon serving to drown out the dwindling sounds of the sinking village. She had played her part as best she could. Now it was up to the jinchuuriki to get out while he was able to. There wouldn't be a better opportunity than right now, with the whole village currently distracted. If he waisted this chance, then things would only get more complicated.

* * *

Temari grunted in discomfort. A dull pain throbbing through her head as she stumbled back to her feet. The Kazekage tower had fallen, literally. The ground had given way to the tunnels beneath the village, and from the sounds of things outside, it was not an isolated incident. The office was a mess, the desk, bookshelves, and the rest of the furniture having been thrown around upon the building's shift. Losing her balance, she fell over, one of her personal ANBU guard catching her as she did so while the others gathered around her.

"Lady Temari, what are your orders?" the ANBU asked.

"What's the situation? How far spread is this?" the blonde asked.

"We are not sure. It seems that the tunnels underneath the village have been sabotaged from within. It appears to have been focussed on the tunnel leading to the high security prison wings. The damage is severe, but manageable."

"Dammit!" Temari snarled. "Begin immediate rescue operations. Locate and assess the condition of the council, secure their safety at all costs. Prioritise the forces to making sure the village is stable structurally. We cannot have any more damage risking the lives of the villagers."

The ANBU all scattered, leaving only the blonde and the single ANBU that was holding her up. "Are you alright to stand?" the ANBU asked.

Temari stepped away from him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken," she said, chuckling nervously at her own stupid pun.

Her amusement was short lived, however, as blood sprayed over her, the ANBU standing next to her being ripped open by the very air around him and thrown across the room in a bloody mangled heap. Temari refrained from reacting, the chill of cold steel at her throat shuddering down her spine as she slowly turned to stare into the now blood red eyes of Naruto. Tayuya stood beside him with an odd look of surprise and unsureness, her expression doing nothing to hint at what the two were there for.

"Now then, since we finally have another chance, why don't you and I continue that conversation we were having down in the prison," Naruto said casually, removing his sword from her throat.

"You nearly destroy my village, you slaughter one of my men right in front of me… and you want to talk?" Temari asked, baring her teeth at the redheads and doing her best to stop herself from going red with rage.

Naruto pursed his lips. "I didn't do the destruction. That was just someone who wanted me to escape, which, if I might add, I did warn you about," he said. "But I did kill your man in front of you, which was uncalled for. I'm not apologising though. If you wanted to forgo any deaths, then you should have listened to me the first time and let us go."

"What the fuck are we doing here?" Tayuya hissed. "The whole village is in turmoil. Now is literally our best chance of getting out of here with a huge head start. We are wasting our fucking time!"

"Tayuya… shut up," Naruto said sternly, sheathing his sword and pushing it into her hand before rounding back to Temari. "I came here for a reason, and I don't plan on leaving until I've gotten what I want. So, you can either cooperate and help us stick around with minimal trouble, or I can knock you out and just rummage through this village until I find someone who can do the next best thing. So, which will it be?"

Temari looked at him weirdly. "You want to stick around?" she asked. "What could possibly be important enough for you to want to stay in the village? You just had to break out of prison for crying out loud."

Naruto shrugged. "I've stayed in villages that have done far worse to me. I mean, I stayed in Ame for a couple of years, and a few people there got really close to killing me."

"But… what for?" Temari asked.

"The climate, mostly," he replied.

"No, you dick head. She's asking what you're staying here for," Tayuya said.

"Ugh, I know that, Tayuya. Just please let the adults talk."

"Fuck you."

"You wish you could."

Tayuya blushed.

"Hah! I win!" Naruto cheered.

Temari cleared her throat loudly. "If you two would stop having a lovers spat, I'd like to get to the point of all this and deal with everything before it goes even more to hell," she said irritably. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but half of my village just sunk into the freaking ground. There is going to be more crap for me to deal with than I need and you two are not helping my situation!"

"Shove it up your ass, you fucking blonde bitch! And don't ever call us lovers again! I would not be regarded as this idiots girlfriend even if my life depended on it!" Tayuya exclaimed, her face turning a darker shade of red. Whether it was out of embarrassment or anger, Temari and Naruto weren't sure, and to be fair, neither was Tayuya.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "This is not going to work," he grumbled. "Look, I don't want to cause any trouble, well, any more trouble. I have my reasons to stick around here, and if you help me stay then I promise to help you fix the destruction that I inadvertently caused. But, you have to ensure both my own and Tayuya's safety."

"And why should I do anything of the sort?" she asked. "That's assuming that I can even manage such a thing. I haven't even been completely established as the Kazekage yet. The council can still overrule me with things that they deem important to the safety and wellbeing of the village. _You two,_ by default, are easily classified as a safety hazard to the whole village. My power over you is next to non-existent."

"Fucking perfect. Then let's gets out of here. I'm not getting locked up again just for some more stupid pricks to try have their way with me," Tayuya said.

"Wait… what? What are you talking about?" Temari asked.

Tayuya sneered. "Three of your fucking villagers came into our cell earlier. Said they were going to have some fun with me as payback for your father's death."

"Villagers? How'd they even get down there? The high security prison wing is only accessible to shinobi with authorisation. Your cell in particular was only accessible through a tunnel from this tower, which means someone here would have had to let them through and given them directions." Temari said unsurely. "Are you positive they were villagers?"

"Well, if they were shinobi, then they were the most piss-weak shinobi I've ever met. I killed one of them with no chakra and one arm, so I doubt they had any training. Lucky for me I guess."

Temari scowled and turned to Naruto. "I want to make a deal," she proposed, earning his immediate attention. "You want to stay in the village for something, and I have some very… _particular_ favours that you might be able to assist me with. I'll help you and your girlfriend sick around if you promise to help me with whatever I need whilst you're here."

"Intriguing. And just what kind of favours are we talking about here?" Naruto asked curiously. "I just don't want to agree to this deal and get used as a glorified mercenary. I need to be sure that I'm not going to be a partner in your gaining an iron fist rule over this village."

"You're saying you'd rather try your luck with someone else becoming Kazekage? It'll be hard to find anyone else who sympathises with your circumstances and won't just see you as a weapon to be tamed," Temari countered. "I'm your best bet of getting anything out of this sandpit, and if you don't help me, then I'll just go back to what I was doing before you showed up, only with the subtle addition of condemning you two to death for nearly destroying my home."

Tayuya turned to Naruto with a sly grin. "Well, looks like you've been bested by the bitch. What's your big game plan now, dick head?"

"I wouldn't be so rude to him if I were you. If he doesn't accept the deal, you'll both be pitted together in the ramifications. You'll be executed immediately," the blonde said.

"What the shit?! That's not fair!"

Naruto deadpanned at the girl. "What part of anything has been fair for you these past couple of weeks, Tayuya?"

"Just shut up and make a decision. I don't have all day here. The village is falling to shit and I need to be out there helping."

"Alright, alright, jeez. Don't get your panties in a bunch. I'll help you out with these favours for our staying here. You happy?" Naruto said.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Not really. My village is still fucked because of you, I just found out that someone with high authorisation has no respect for my orders, and now I have to make up some excuse for how my ANBU died."

"He tripped," Tayuya offered, getting an annoyed stare from the blonde. "…into a shark."

"For the duration of your stay here, it might be best if you just remain silent."

"Seconded," Naruto agreed. "Now just tell us where we are supposed to hide out while things calm down. I'd suggest we go back to our cell, but I think that entire wing is buried by now."

Temari paled drastically. "Gaara."

Without another word, the blonde dashed across the room and out the door. Naruto followed her to the doorway, only to watch the girl run full pelt down the hall and disappear with more haste than he was comfortable seeing someone exert. The jinchuuriki tried to make sense of what just happened, only to come to a conclusion that left him frowning.

"Tayuya, stay here. Don't go anywhere unless it's for your own safety."

The girl tsk'd. "What the hell is wrong now?"

Naruto walked over to her and grabbed his sword, a sealing scroll warping into his hand from one of his own seals as he did so. "Things might be much worse than I thought they were. Barricade the room as best you can. Everything you need will be in here," he said, handing her the scroll.

"And where the hell are you going?"

He smiled at her. "No idea. But if that girl dies, then we lose any chance of staying here and then I lose any chance of getting what I want."

Tayuya gnashed her teeth angrily. "You haven't even told me what the fuck we're here for! How about you let me in on what's so bloody important that we have to risk our lives for it!"

"Well, Suna is known for its puppet mastery, and you aren't much use to me with only one arm. I thought I'd get one made for you. At least then you'd stop whinging about how I cut yours off… hopefully," he said, ignoring the girl's wide-eyed expression of shock. "That and I heard that the hot springs here are to die for, along with the girls. Apparently, Suna breeds 'em special, and I'm curious to see what that entails."

Tayuya continued to stare at him dumbfounded. "…an arm?" she whispered disbelievingly.

Naruto patted her on the head. "Yeah, an arm. But it's only worth it if you survive. So do me a favour and don't die. I'm gunna go keep what's-her-face alive. Be a good girl. I'll be back soon."

Before Tayuya could say anything, Naruto was gone, chasing after Temari and leaving the redhead standing awkwardly in the middle of the Kazekage office. She looked down at the scroll in her hand curiously before staring unsurely at the stump that remained of her left arm. The conflicting emotions she had felt earlier regarding Naruto welled up inside her again. A part of her, buried deep down under all the hatred and coarseness that made up her loveable personality, wanted to trust him, to take some kind of comfort in the kindness he had been showing her. But the rest of her wasn't so quick to let her fall into that sense of security again.

Far too many scars littered her body to allow her to forget the times where she had trusted too quickly. Even more so with her mind. And yet, in spite of all her past experiences, Tayuya couldn't force back the nagging in her mind that urged her to trust Naruto. Any of the other annoying urges that plagued her mind about the jinchuuriki were easier to push to the back of her thoughts, but much like before, it all added up to a point where none of it could be completely ignored.

Taking a deep breath, the redhead recomposed herself, mentally assuring herself that she would delve into the inner turmoil of her emotions at a later date. Sadly, in her moment of distraction, Tayuya failed to stay aware of her surroundings, a mistake that was made immediately clear to her as she realised that she couldn't move her body anymore.

"What the fuck?!"

As if on cue, black tendrils crawled up her legs from her own shadow, extending and wrapping themselves around her until each of her limbs were covered in them. They constricted around her tightly, pulling and pushing in such a way as to force her body to turn around. As she did so, Tayuya became aware of the group standing behind her, consisting most notably of Jiraiya of the Sannin, and one of the kids that had been sent to rescue the Uchiha, the latter of whom seemed to be responsible for her shadow bindings.

"I would apologise for the discomfort, I haven't had much practice with this particular technique, but I don't really consider you worth my sympathy," Shikamaru droned emotionlessly.

"Tenten, bind her properly," Jiraiya ordered.

The bun haired girl practically skipped towards the redhead, happy to comply without any complaints. The shadow tendrils once again constricted and forced Tayuya to put her arm uncomfortably behind her back. Tenten wasted on time in unsealing a peculiar object, consisting of a single solid steal shackle connected to a length of chain, all of which was heavily inscribed with seals. Clamping the shackle tightly onto the girl's wrist, she wrapped the chain across her chest in a way to pull her arm up her back painfully. Locking the chain in place, the seals all glowed briefly before Tayuya dropped to her knees, the tendrils of shadow retracting back into her own as Shikamaru released his technique.

"Tenten, why do you even have a single shackle chain?" Ino asked curiously.

The brunette blushed and crossed her arms with a huff. "What I keep in my collection is none of your business, as are my reasons for owning such things. It came in handy for this situation, and that is all you need to worry about."

"If you twits are going to keep babbling about stupid shit, then just kill me now and spare me the suffering of having to hear it," Tayuya said, grunting in pain as she tried to lift herself up. "And while you're at it, you can take these chains off."

"We aren't going to kill you, as much as you might deserve it. You are coming back to Konoha with us to stand trial and be appropriately charged for your crimes," Jiraiya explained. "But until then, you are going to tell me where Naruto is."

"Ugh, if that's your plan, you might as well kill me here. Your stupid tree hugger village will definitely execute me, just like this shithole of a litterbox village was going to do. And I don't even know where that idiot went. He ran off after the blonde bitch. So, now that you know I'm useless to you, how about you get these stupid fucking chains off of me, and then piss off after Naruto!"

Jiraiya grumbled. "Dammit. He could be anywhere in the village by now. We don't have time to waste tracking him down. Ino, check to see if she's telling the truth. If she is, then we'll just have to take her with us anyway and figure something out."

"You want me to look into _her_ mind? Eeeeww! No way! Who knows what kind of disgusting stuff she's done. I don't want to see any of that!" the blonde exclaimed.

"You're a Yamanaka, Ino. This is what you're expected to do. Besides, she isn't much older than us; what's the worst that she could have done," Tenten said. "If you're that scared about seeing something bad, then just look at really recent memories and stuff. You can do that, right?"

Ino pursed her lips in annoyance. "Of course I can. It's easy. But that still means I have to look at _her_ recent memories. That could be anything. I don't want to risk seeing whatever morbid or perverted thoughts she might have had. And she's supposed to be the one who killed Chōji. What if I see that?"

"Then you can be a key component to making sure she is charged for the crime," Shikamaru said.

The Yamanaka shuddered. Holding back her urge to snarl, she knelt down in front of Tayuya. After going through some hand seals, she placed her thumbs on the girl's forehead and two fingers of each hand on her temples. Ino closed her eyes and concentrated, Tayuya's own eyes rolling back as her consciousness was forced back into her mind. After a couple of minutes, Ino released the technique and stood up silently.

Tenten quirked an eyebrow "Well?"

"She's definitely the one who killed Chōji," Ino replied emotionlessly.

"And Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

Ino blushed slightly. "Is definitely hot, but also not here. She was telling the truth about not knowing where he ran off to. He chased after Temari when she said something about Gaara and took off out the door."

"Is that all you found out?"

"Well, no, but it's not easy with her. All of her recent memories are blotchy. She's been in a coma, knocked out a few times, and has been in pain for the past couple of weeks," Ino explained. "It's a real mess inside that head. The only thing I could see in perfect clarity was a small conversation they had a few days ago. They were talking about someone named Hanzō."

Jiraiya's blood went cold. "Hanzō of the salamander?"

Ino nodded. "Yeah, him. Naruto was saying something about being trained by him for a while. Makes sense, I guess. They did have the conversation in the land of the salamanders, or so he said. He told her that he stole the summoning contract from Hanzō's grave."

Jiraiya was understandably distressed. "Alright, change of plans. You three take the girl and hide somewhere. Ino, if you can, extract any more information about her. Naruto wants her alive for something and I want to know what it is. No matter what, do not let Naruto see you taking her."

"Where should we go?" Shikamaru asked.

"Anywhere away from the fighting. Leave the village if you have to. I'll catch up later."

"You mean I don't even get to fight? What kind of lame mission is this?" Tenten whined. "I even brought my best weapon sets."

"There, there, Tenten. Your time will come," Ino assured her, patting the downhearted girl on the back. "But for now, you need to pick her up and follow me and Shikamaru out of here."

Tenten's narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Why do I have to carry her?"

"Because she disgusts me, I need to conserve my energy for reading her mind, and Shikamaru is a lazy bum."

"Just go!" Jiraiya ordered, running out of the room as he desperately began searching for Naruto.

"…"

"…We should probably go," Shikamaru said.

Ino tsk'd. "I don't see what the big deal is. From what I saw, Naruto doesn't look like he's that strong. Let's just hide somewhere comfortable, like in the famous hot springs of Suna," she said, directing her best puppy-dog-eyes at Shikamaru.

"The village just nearly got destroyed, Ino. I think Jiraiya is right in sending us away. We are way out of our league here," Shikamaru said sternly. "Now let's get out of here before things get worse, or, even worse than that, Naruto figures out that we have his friend."

The village shook again. Unlike the time before, it wasn't a gradual build-up of explosive force, but instead a low grumbling that flowed through the whole village with no real epicentre. Sand poured up out of the fissures and cracks in the ground as if acting of its own accord, crawling up walls and ensnaring anyone and everyone unfortunate to be caught it its reach. Entire parts of the village were hoisted into the air by the sand as it grew in mass, blocking Suna off from the outside world as it swallowed up the passageways leading out.

Shikamaru, Tenten, and Ino all watched the events take place with varying displays of shock. Their focus only breaking as Ino tapped Shikamaru on the shoulder.

"Alright, I get it now. Let's get out of here," she said worriedly.

The Nara groaned. _'Jiraiya better be able to sort this mess out. Tsunade will not be happy about it if he was here and let things go to hell just because he's after Naruto.'_

* * *

Naruto grabbed Temari by the collar of her blouse, yanking her off her feet and throwing her harshly into a nearby open cell. Before she could protest, Naruto dived in after her, pinning her down as the tunnel rumbled loudly, a sea of sand violently filling the tunnel in the moments following, cracking the stone around it and bashing against the cells gate hard enough to mangle it, ripping it from the stone and dropping it down on top of them.

"I just want you to know right here and now that this was not intentional, and I surely hope that it doesn't affect our agreement," Naruto said, an unusually cheeky smirk on his face as he gestured down at their current position with his eyes.

Temari looked at him questioningly before taking notice of their rather compromised position, what with him lying on top of her, the weight of the iron bars pushing him down to the point of too much bodily contact to be appropriate. In spite of herself, Temari blushed ever so slightly, making sure to disguise her mild embarrassment with anger as she glared daggers directly into Naruto's eyes, which, by some miracle of divine nature, were sparkling with nothing but pure innocents.

With a grunt, the blonde pushed Naruto and the iron bars up off of her, offering him a sadistically sweet smile. "I'll trust you on the unintentional part, but the agreement will have to be mended to account for this," she said before grabbing a fistful of his hair and snarling at him. "Now stop wasting time and get the hell off of me! Help me save my brother, and I might still be willing to go along with what I proposed!"

Naruto stood up quickly, pushing the gate off of himself and into the still flowing torrent of sand to be consumed. He helped Temari up to her feet before directing his attention to his senses.

"This sand is everywhere."

"No duh, you moron. We are in a desert," Temari snapped irritably.

"No, I mean, _this_ sand. As in the sand that is coated and being controlled by some malevolent chakra, most likely your brother. It's expanding well beyond the boundaries of the village," he clarified.

Temari's eyes widened. "That far? But… Gaara's never gone to such extremes before. He doesn't have enough control for it."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "Then it isn't him," he muttered. "After the incident in Konoha, what did you do? What was done to make sure that he wouldn't lose it again? Did you tamper with his seal at all?"

"Of course not! Suna doesn't have anywhere near the expertise and knowledge to mess with a seal holding a Bijuu, especially one that holds back the one that could wipe us completely off the map!" Temari exclaimed before looking down ashamedly. "That being said though, we did take necessary precautions. A command seal was placed on him, to ensure that his loyalty wouldn't break, to make certain that he could be reeled in if he lost control again."

"And who is it linked to?" he asked.

"A handful of people, myself included"

Naruto took a deep calming breath. "After this crap is over, me and your village are going to have a really long talk about the wrongs of turning a kid into a slave. Then I'm going to murder everyone here that claims to know anything about Fūinjutsu, because clearly you people have more sand in your heads than this whole bloody desert does!" he yelled. "You do not add seals to things that already have seals without being absolutely sure it won't interfere with what's already there!"

Temari went to retort, only to have the Uzumaki put his hand up to silence her. "I know, it's not your fault, I'm not blaming you. Sorry for yelling. But I will need to kill someone once this is over, even if it's myself for my own sanities sake," he said, rolling up his sleeve and absentmindedly tracing one of the seals on his arm. "I'll help you sort this out, and then I'm giving you all that you need to learn what is required to ensure that such a fuck up doesn't occur again. The terms of that will be worked out later though. Right now, we need to find your brother and hope that my hunch isn't correct."

"Hunch? What hunch? What do you think has happened to him?"

"Well, if that command seal interfered too harshly on an already fragile seal holding back a Bijuu, then it could have all broken, unleashing the Ichibi and killing your brother instantly. We could very well be dealing with an actual Bijuu right now. Hopefully though, my hunch is correct and his seal hasn't broken, simply degraded to an extremely unsafe point. But it's at this point you have to decide if saving him is worth it."

"Of course it's worth it! Why would you even assume it wouldn't be?!"

Naruto ignored her, placing his palm over the now glowing seal. His chakra expanded rapidly as the air around him crackled loudly in a flashy show of lightning chakra manipulation. Bringing his now released chakra nature under control, he gave Temari an emotionless look. "If his seal has only degraded, I can save him, reseal the Bijuu within him, and secure it… but it would be more merciful to just kill him and find a new host. He has already suffered by the sounds of it, and the Bijuu is probably tearing him apart from the inside out right now. Putting it back will destroy him physically, and after that… well, not many have the fortitude for that kind of trauma. He'll probably become nothing more than a blank slate."

"But that is for later. Right now, you need to help me stop this thing," he said, pulling out a three-pronged kunai and tossing it into the torrent of sand.

Temari gawked at him. "Was that what I think it was?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I don't like using it much, so please keep quiet about it. It's so overpowered it makes me feel like a prick. But a Bijuu is a special occasion."

The blonde took an uneasy step back from him. _'The Hiraishin. He knows the freaking Hiraishin!'_ she thought to herself in horror. The reality of what she had thought to be an idle threat finally hit her like a brick. With such a technique at his disposal, he could have decimated Suna. It also explained Jiraiya's disturbing obsession with catching the teen. The Hiraishin was the masterpiece of the Sannin's apprentice, and so, it would only make sense that Jiraiya wanted to ensure the security of the jutsu. But it also made her position on the matter much more complicated.

As an ally to Konoha, Suna would be expected to help them in such a situation. The botched invasion attempt, along with the now half-destroyed state of the village, meant that Suna also now relied far too heavily on Konoha's support to do anything against them. Temari's offer to help Naruto could very well hold drastic ramifications if she followed through with it.

"Okay, that's long enough," Naruto said, grabbing Temari's hand tightly. "We're either going to die a horrible death by sand, or we'll be fine. Hope for the best."

Before Temari could react, the world warped around her, her stomach churning uncomfortable as she felt herself getting dragged through space and time, the whole process being accompanied by a strange tingling sensation that left her body feeling numb. In an instant, the world around them flashed into existence, revealing their new location high up in the air above the village, right next to a giant tower of sand. The sand exploded towards them, lashing out in the form of a giant clawed hand and crushing them in its grip.

Naruto unleashed a wave of lightning into the sand, turning it into glass and shattered it before charging his Hiraishin kunai with wind chakra and throwing it to the other side of the village. In a flash, they escaped yet another hand of sand, reappearing well out of reach and landing in a tumbling heap of entangled limbs.

Temari pushed Naruto off of her with an annoyed sneer. "At least try to stop landing on me."

"Hehe, sorry."

The two looked back to the tower of sand protruding from the ground. It was quickly growing in size and height, drawing from the sand both within and outside of the village, and further proving Naruto's analysis that the Bijuu had control of far more chakra-laced sand than was necessary. The now colossal mountain of sand quickly gained form, clawed hands, a spiked tail, and a maw of stupendous size. Bluish black markings becoming clear on the creature as its true tanuki-like form became complete.

"So, how are we going to stop him?" Temari asked.

"We? There is no we. You're going to sit here and behave yourself while I deal with the mess your idiot father and the rest of this stupid village created," he said.

Unsheathing his sword, he sealed away the sheath before unsealing a large sickle. Naruto paused momentarily to look down at the weapon, a thick concoction of toxins dripping from its edge and a ring at the end of the handle for a chain to attach. It was one of the few things Hanzō had gifted him apart from training and skills. Despite having originally thought of the kusarigama as a stupid and weird kind of weapon, he was quick to see the greatness of it… after some forcefulness on Hanzō's part.

He only kept it sealed away so as to give most people a fighting chance. As a ranged and rather unpredictable weapon, it was hard to find people that were able to stand a chance against the kusarigama. In some cases, it was no better than cutting down people like paper. Luckily, he could unleash his full force of abilities with it against a Bijuu and not feel guilty at all, even more so since said Bijuu was made from sand. Honestly, what real damage could he do with bladed weaponry against that kind of creature? Didn't mean he wasn't going to have fun with it though.

Stabbing the sickle into the ground, he placed his open palm against the chain ring, a short length of steel chain extending out of one of his seals and linking to the weapon, before pulling his hand away. As his hand moved away, the chain extended out from his arm at an impressive rate, forming such a length that it coiled around Naruto's waist before wrapping around his forearm. Grabbing the chain, he pulled on it and tore the sickle from the ground, spinning it around idly as he attached a sealing tag to the pommel of his sword.

"Okay, you're going to want to tell your people to back off and find cover. That thing is huge and I'm going to have to throw out some big techniques to keep its attention on me. More people will just get in my way and die. You do your best to gather the ones that have a connection to the command seal on your brother. If you all activate it together, there might still be enough of a connection to cause some delay in its actions," Naruto said calmly, pulling out another three-pronged kunai and charging it with wind chakra before lopping it in the Bijuu's direction.

"You plan on fighting that thing alone?" Temari asked in disbelief. "Are you completely insane?"

Naruto smiled at her. "Who ever said I'd do it alone."

In a flash, he was gone. He reappeared in the air, right above the raging Bijuu. Swinging his sickle around with perfect accuracy, he caught his kunai by the finger ring with the blade, pulling it back to him and kicking it even higher into the air. A cloud of smoke filled the sky before a hail of shadow cloned kunai rained down from the sky, turning the Ichibi into the largest pincushion ever to live. The Bijuu roared in rage, its eyes turning upward and locking into the falling teen. Naruto smirked as it swung its clawed hand at him in an attempt to swat him away, only to spin himself around, the chain attached to his sickled extending as required for him to swing it around in a large circular slash charged with wind chakra.

The Ichibi's arm exploded as the wind-powered kusarigama tore through it, causing the severed limb to collapse into sand. Naruto let go of the chain and cut his thumb as he neared the Bijuu, disappearing in yet another cloud of smoke. The Ichibi went to lash out with its other arm, only for Naruto to flash to a kunai on said limb and plunge his lighting charged sword into it. The sand crystallised and shattered, leaving the Bijuu wide open as what appeared to be a meteorite crashed down from the smoke cloud into the sand demon, knocking it down onto its back.

A screech rung out through the village as the meteorite sprouted legs, a tail, and a head, all of which were covered in a mixture of burning flames and molten magma. The Ichibi roared again as the salamander spewed copious amounts of magma and fire onto it, melting the sand into a useless and uncontrollable clump of glass and crystal. Reforming its arms, the Bijuu tried to push the salamander off, only to find its efforts useless, the fiery form of the summons being almost impossible for it to grab a hold of. Eventually, the Ichibi gave up on trying to grab it, opting to instead move its mass around it, reforming its whole body behind it, and bringing its fist down on top of the salamander.

The summons dispelled, leaving the Bijuu to try and grind down the now vitrified sand left in the wake of the salamander. Its efforts were cut short as Naruto reappeared in front of it, swinging his sickle into the Bijuu's eye. The colossal tanuki threw its head back in retaliation, whipping Naruto far up into the air above it. Naruto locked eyes with the Bijuu momentarily, the crazed glimmer in the creature's eye giving him a horrible sense of foreboding as it opened its mouth as wide as it possibly could.

A sphere of red chakra began forming above its mouth, growing continuously and rapidly as the Bijuu pulled on all the excess chakra from the sand around it. The sphere expanded until it was nearly half the size of the Ichibi itself before collapsing down into a tiny pitch-black ball no larger than a person's head. The blood drained from Naruto's face as it dawned on him just what was about to happen. With speed that would have made his father proud, he dropped his sword and sickle and threw two kunai, one further up into the air, and another straight at the ball of chakra.

The Bijuu's jaws snapped shut over the ball, missing Naruto's kunai by inches. The kunai embedded itself into the ball of chakra before Naruto flashed to it, both him and the ball disappearing the next instant. The Ichibi momentarily lost control of its form with the sudden loss of the gravity around the ball, only to quickly reform and looked around in shock. As if done with the intention of shocking the Bijuu further, a large eruption of chakra flared up above the village causing everyone to stare up at the arguably terrifying sight.

High above the village, Naruto floated in the air, the earth crushingly heavy ball of chakra still gripped in his hands. Without much thought, Naruto did the only thing he could think of and began absorbing the chakra directly into his own reserves. That proved to be a bad idea as his hand began to burn, the skin peeling off of him as the chakra worked its way up his arms. In spite of the pain, he held on, determined to at least reduce the potential catastrophe that he was holding. In a perfect situation, he would have simply thrown another kunai to a safe location and dropped the Bijuu bomb somewhere that it couldn't do anything bad, but now that he had already started to absorb it, he couldn't stop. The risk of it recoiling at the action was too high, and he would be damned if he was going to die in such a way.

As he continued to fall, the chakra continued to work its way through him, burning his chakra network like lava. Had he been anything but the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, Naruto was sure that he'd already be dead, but luckily, he was, as Tayuya would have put it, a very special kind of idiot. A fact that helped to explain the coming up with an absolutely stupid plan, if he did say so himself. Now all he needed to do was pull it off and brag his ass off afterwards… if he didn't blow his ass up in the process of course.

Falling faster and faster down towards the Ichibi, Naruto began to feel the Bijuu's chakra flowing through him with less resistance, his body finally reacting to it as if it were that of the nine tails. Still, he had barely absorbed anywhere near a notable chunk of the chakra bomb, leaving him with precious little time to figure out how he was going to pull off his plan. He needed to assimilate the chakra into his own reserves, or at least take the brunt of the power it contained, but to do so he needed to first contain himself.

He wasn't sure, but Naruto had the feeling that injecting this much potent chakra into his system would spark a rather destructive side effect. It usually happened whenever he used stupid amounts of the Kyuubi's chakra, so it stood to reason that it would happen with another Bijuu's chakra as well. Luckily, his eyes locked onto the sight of the hundreds of kunai he had dropped on the Ichibi, most of them still being embedded in the creature. Looking down at the one still stuck in the ball, Naruto grinned.

Sometimes it really helped to have such a stupidly overpowered technique.

* * *

Temari was busy running around the village, warning all she could find not to interfere in the colossal battle commencing above them. While they weren't overly pleased, no one was game enough to argue with her. In fact, many of them were grateful to have an excuse to not attack, their sense of duty being the only thing really holding them back from running. To be honest, she couldn't blame them at this point. Before, their efforts would have been helpful, aiding to distract the Bijuu while her father used his gold dust to subdue it. But now, with her father dead, there wasn't anyone capable of simply stopping the monster. If they fought, they would only die, offering no form of help as they went.

As she continued, the battle continued. Whatever doubts she might have formed in her mind about Naruto were officially shattered with each attack he unleashed on the Ichibi. He had yet to even throw out an actual jutsu yet, and still had the beast completely focused on him. It was terrifying to think that someone could go against a Bijuu with only a sword and sickle and still hold their own, but in this instance, Temari only viewed it as a godsend. With the beasts attention focused on him, the shinobi of Suna were able to safely free those caught in the sand, evacuating them out of the perceived danger zone.

Climbing to the top of a building, Temari tried to scope out just how far the situation had escalated. What she saw was anything but comforting, what with the Ichibi forming a Bijuu bomb in the middle of the village. Based on what information she had gathered about the chakra manifestations, she knew that such a technique would destroy most of what left of Suna. Whatever was left after that would be lucky to get recognition as anything more than a speck in the deserts of wind country.

As the Ichibi swallowed the condensed sphere of chakra, the blonde couldn't help but hold her breath in anticipation of the devastation to follow, only for the Bijuu to unexpectedly collapse. The almost comical scene evoked a confused "Huh?" from Temari before a flare of chakra drew her attention up to the sky. She watched, stunned in rapt silence, as Naruto plummeted down towards the Bijuu, the ball of chakra in his hands. The Ichibi responded by opening its mouth again, intending to allow the boy to simply fall into its jaws, and much to Temari's surprise, it seemed that Naruto intended to do just that.

Just before the Bijuu was about to swallow him, there was a flash. The hundreds of Hiraishin kunai littering the sand that made up the beast flashing out of existence, large chunks of sand being warped out of reality with them. Before the Ichibi could even react to the loss of much of its body, it was privileged to a front row seat view of a literal mountain of sand flashing into the world up behind Naruto, both he and the sand colliding into the beast with enough force to shake the village.

The physical shockwave was followed by the immediate sense of dread blanketing the village, an invisible pressure weighing heavily on everyone it effected. Those who were old enough, or had enough encounters with the Ichibi, knew the sensation well, but none had felt it on such a massive scale. Temari, however, was completely aware of what was happening, and who was behind it. She had thought it was bad enough with the Ichibi raging inside the village, but fear truly gripped her heart at the thought of the Kyuubi doing the same.

As quickly as it had appeared, the pressure was gone. Everyone waited for the Ichibi to reform and continue its rampage, but it never did. Silence engulfed the village as the dust settled. It took a few moments, but eventually the people realised it was over and began moving to find anyone hurt or trapped by the destruction. Temari headed straight for where she had seen Naruto collide with the Ichibi, several ANBU quickly joining her on her way.

As they arrived, the group was met with the sight of a large crater that had been scorched into the ground. Sitting in the centre of the crater was none other than Naruto, albeit in far than good condition. Much of his skin was burnt, his hands being the worst, looking like he had submerged them in the coals of a fire. Blood oozed out of his wounds with each laboured breath as he waited for his body to start regenerating itself. With the Ichibi's chakra still flowing through him, and the shear amount of chakra he had used for the Hiraishin, he doubted he would be completely healed anytime soon.

Naruto looked up to see Temari walking up to him, worry written on her face. He wasn't sure if it was for him or her brother, but it was nice to live in the fantasy for a moment. Trying to chuckle, he coughed up a bit of blood. "Before you ask, this hurts way worse than it looks."

"Where's Gaara?" Temari demanded.

"Damn, and here I thought you'd show some sympathy," Naruto grumbled, hanging his head in mock sadness.

Temari snapped at him. "Where the hell's my brother?"

"Over there," he said, pointing to the edge of the crater, an action that left him wincing in pain.

Temari was gone as soon as she heard the words, completely ignoring Naruto as her ANBU surrounded him. She ran to the edge of the crater, quickly finding the defeated form of her brother laying lifelessly face down on the ground. Racing to his side, she rolled him over, her eyes widening in shock as she quietly gasped. While her brother had never shown any real emotion for many years, with only the occasional glint of a psychopath in his eyes being an indicator to there being a person inside him at all, it still didn't mean she was prepared to see him like this.

Gaara was, for all intents and purposes, dead to the world. A large hole was burnt into the front of his shirt revealing the rather large and complex seal now printed on his chest. Temari ignored the impressive markings, choosing to focus her attention on carefully lifting the boys head up, cradling it in her lap as she stared down at him sadly. A mere glance was all she needed to realise that her brother was gone. The innocent child he had once been, to the monster he had been forced to become, all of it was gone.

His eyes said it all. No longer did they hold their impassiveness or even a trace of crazed bloodthirst that he was known for; instead, they were soulless, empty, and unreactive to the world that Temari doubted even cared about his death in all but body. Tears welled in her eyes as she choked back the urge to bawl like a child. With the gentleness that she had longed for him to one day be accustomed to, she brushed his unruly hair from his face, lingering momentarily on the kanji for "love" on his forehead.

A sad smile tugged at her lips as she closed her brother's eyes. "Don't worry, Gaara," she said softly, "Now you can sleep… just like you always wanted to."

Naruto watched her from a distance, a little moved by the affection she showed for the acclaimed "Monster of Suna" that had just nearly aided in the villages destruction. Sibling or not, it was a rare sight to see someone who cared so much for a jinchuuriki. What was even more surprising was the audience's reactions. No one dared to make a noise, to say anything possibly bad about Temari seemingly caring more for her murderous brother than the innocent villagers that had lost their lives or homes in the ensuing chaos.

He idly wondered if she even realised how touching her current actions were to those that could see her. Her position as Kazekage was without a doubt ensured by now. Regrettably, his part in that particular matter was over for the moment. With his healing factor finally kicking in, he was able to finally reach out with his senses and get a read on things, only to find that Tayuya was definitely outside of the village walls. His eyes went cold as he stared up to the roof of one of the few surrounding buildings that weren't toppled. He remained emotionless as Jiraiya stared back at him with a smug smirk.

The Sannin vanished in a whirl of sand, leaving Naruto to contemplate his next move carefully. He was already too far lost in thought when his exhaustion finally caught up to him. It wasn't until he finally hit the ground that he took notice of his dizziness and light-headedness, his vision blurring before everything started going dark.

 _'Damn! I knew I should have prepared more for something like this. I used the Hiraishin way too much,'_ he thought, cursing himself for being so careless.

As his tiredness took hold, Naruto could only hope that Tayuya was able to hold out for a while, or rather, he hoped that whoever had her could hold out for a while without wanting to kill her.

 _'And to think… all I wanted was to buy her an arm,'_ he muttered to himself mentally.

 _'I knew I had a good reason for not being so nice more often.'_

With that, he finally passed out, leaving himself to the mercy of Temari, hoping that she stood by their deal.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Probably not the best place to end a chapter, but oh well. As you can see, I have tried to offer some action parts, not that I consider them to be great by any means. The Ichibi fight was short lived, and so was Gaara... hopefully that decision on my part doesn't make too many of you hate me. Other than that though, there will finally be a meeting between Naruto and Jiraiya, which is a little overdue. Not quite sure just yet what will be happening with everything else in this story though, same with the scheduling unfortunately. I feel inclined to go and continue the other fanfic that I abruptly dropped for this one, so the next update might have to wait until after I've revived that. Sorry for the potential delay if that is in fact the case.

In response to a couple of reviews, I regret to inform that I have no intentions of writing any actual sex scenes in this story. This is not set in stone however, but as it is now, I do not have the confidence that I would be able to write anything of that sort very well. Fight scenes are something I am going to have to write anyway, unless I want this to become nothing more than a sappy love story, but I don't promise good ones (take the one in this chapter as example). With that said, please don't anyone complain about the lack of sex and fight scenes in this story. If that is what you are after, then there are stories devoted to exactly that.

Other than the handful of negatives, reviews are going good. Keep them up. Don't forget to leave one on this chapter.

Till next time guys.

Soul out!


	10. Sages and Seals

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

When Naruto finally woke up, he wasn't at all surprised by the pounding headache he had. The burning pain throughout most of his body had been dulled to a simple irritation, but it was very obvious to him that he had strained his chakra network more than he should have. It would be quite some time before he would be able to abuse the Hiraishin again without causing himself some serious problems.

He sat up slowly, taking the time to observe the mostly empty room it seemed he was being kept in. For the most part, it was partially set up as a hospital room, just without the hospital part being noticeable in any real way. A chair was positioned off to one side of the room, a set of clean clothes piled on top. Surprisingly, his sword and kusarigama were also present, having been carefully leaned up against the wall beside said chair. That alone was enough to tell him that he wasn't a prisoner in the village anymore.

Getting out of the bed, he sealed his weapons away into his arms, unsealing a change of his own clothes as he went. As if on cue, however, the door swung open as a rather dishevelled looking Temari walked in hastily and locked the door behind her with a little too much force. She turned around, only to freeze and blush at the site of Naruto pulling his pants up and buckling his belt, completely uncaring of her presence.

"How long have I been out?" he asked calmly.

Temari regained her posture. "Almost two days," she answered quickly, her eyes scanning the teen for any traces of the injuries he had obtained, but to no avail. "Our medics couldn't figure out what was wrong with you. You have too much chakra to become chakra exhausted, and as a jinchuuriki, you couldn't have gotten chakra poisoning. Care to explain why I've had to keep an ANBU squad protecting you for all this time?"

Naruto ignored her question, taking his time in putting his shirt on before turning to her emotionlessly. "Who knows of the Hiraishin?"

The blonde hesitated for a second. "Only me, as far as I can tell. No one has come forth demanding your immediate capture for the sake of obtaining the technique. I'd say you're safe in that regard."

He nodded, accepting her answer. "My condition was a result of that jutsu. My current efficiency with it is not good enough to negate the rather potent side effects of space/time manipulation. Being a jinchuuriki also doesn't help the matter. It's nice to know you were worried though."

"Tsk, don't get ahead of yourself. My concern stemmed from the political side of things. With your incapacitation being widely known, many are suggesting we place a command seal on you to replace the jinchuuriki Suna has lost. They have been increasingly persistent in making sure I know of their interests and demands."

Naruto wasn't unaware of the effort Temari put into making sure her words didn't convey the difficulty it took for her to so casually talk about her brother in such a way. That only begged the question, "Your brother?" he asked curiously.

Temari tightened her jaw at the question. "He's… gone. Our medics won't touch him, and even if they would, it wouldn't help. I've had to lock him away within what's left of the Kazekage tower under constant guard, much like you. I can't take the chance that someone will try to take advantage of either of your conditions and steal a Bijuu."

"Smart, but also unnecessary on my part. My seal can't be tampered with without the key, and trying to add any more seals that would interfere with it in any detrimental way would fail. My parents took paranoia to an inhuman level when they made preparations for the life I might have," Naruto explained, pausing for a moment to gauge Temari's current state before continuing. "Now that the easy part is over, I'm going to need you to offer up a new host for the Ichibi."

"Why?" Temari asked sternly, glaring at him. "It is contained right now, and no one is getting hurt any more than they were before. It doesn't need a new host."

Naruto sighed and looked around. "Is this room sealed?" he asked, receiving a nod from the girl, "Good. Then let me ask you… do you know of the Akatsuki?"

"No."

"They are an organisation intent on the capture and collection of the nine Bijuu. For what purpose is up for some debate, but that's beside the point. Your brother is now the easiest of the nine to obtain. A Bijuu locked in a vessel that can't even fight back. There is nothing stopping them from coming here and taking him for their own. And before you say something about the village defending him, keep in mind that very few in this village seem to even care about your brother or the Bijuu. Any one of the members of Akatsuki could match me in a fight, if not outright crush me, and I just single handedly took down this village's most powerful weapon," he explained. "The Ichibi needs to be sealed into a new jinchuuriki, one that is capable of defending themselves, or at least escape from those sent after them."

Temari sneered at him. "You want someone else to go through that hell? To be hated and ostracised by everyone, all for the sake of keeping that _thing_ safe _,_ " she said angrily. "Shouldn't you understand what that's like, of all people? What makes you think that resealing the Ichibi is a necessity? Let Akatsuki have it, there's still eight more for them to gather. If you care so much about them having them all, then just go and make sure the other jinchuuriki are protected."

Taking a deep calming breath, Temari held up her hands apologetically. "Look, I'm thankful for what you've done. Saving the village from the Ichibi's rampage and fixing the seal was not expected or required of you, so I'm more than willing to do my best to make sure that the debt is repaid. However, I will not put another child through the agony and suffering that I was forced to watch my brother endure. Not as a kunoichi, a Kage, or even a human being, will I allow myself to knowingly put anyone through that. I'd sooner kill myself."

Naruto's expression softened ever so slightly. "I can respect the stance you're trying to take on this problem, but the Ichibi needs a new vessel," he said. "It doesn't need to be a child, and it doesn't have to be known to the public. In fact, it would be best if the identity of the person went unknown to all but the most trusted you know. I'm confident that I can formulate a seal to your liking, and I can assure you that it won't be as faulty as the one your father put on your brother."

"Even if it isn't a child, and even if the identity is kept a secret, how can I expect anyone to go along with it now that you've told me they would inevitably be hunted down by this Akatsuki?" she asked.

He gave a half-hearted shrug. "You could neglect to divulge that particular piece of information, if you wanted to. Or, you could tell them and hope that they go along with it anyway. In the end, it doesn't really matter, so long as you get someone to do it. I'll need another day, at least, before I'm ready to perform a sealing of such magnitude again, so you have a bit of time to come to a decision. If you can't find someone on your own, then I will be taking the Bijuu into my own hands."

Temari crossed her arms irritably. "Can't you just take the stupid thing in the first place? That will solve both our problems."

"I could," Naruto said, "But that wouldn't be right. For one, removing the Bijuu will kill your brother, properly this time. Despite your hatred of it, the Ichibi is going to be the last part of him left, and you have the right to see that it is taken care of properly. I would think that hand picking the person to bear the same burden would be somewhat relieving, making sure that the next jinchuuriki of the Ichibi honours your brother's sacrifice."

Naruto gave her a moment to digest the idea, mentally patting himself on the back for coming up with such an excuse on the spot as he had. While he did feel for the girl, he simply couldn't relate to her pain, making it little more than an annoyance to him and his goals. The Ichibi was an important issue that he needed to deal with before he left, but it was also one that he needed to be dealt with quickly. Every minute he wasted with niceties was a minute more that Tayuya was in the hands of the bad side of Konoha. With Jiraiya more than likely being behind it, Naruto had no doubt that the girl was mere hours away from sitting in a cell somewhere underneath the village awaiting the council's inevitable decision.

He could hope for Tsunade to try and settle things, but the Senju was only so helpful when it came to something like this. Whatever information she revealed about Tayuya's condition could potentially backfire into something far worse. While Naruto was more than determined to get her back before it came to that, he wasn't a god. His success in saving her was dependant entirely on how quick Konoha was to react to her, and he could only hope that the final decision was stalled while he dealt with the issues of Suna.

Temari, for her part, was more than aware of Naruto's sweet talk. She knew that he was aware of Tayuya's disappearance, and also probably of where she was and who might have taken her. His calm and collected attitude was simply too unnatural for the situation, allowing her to immediately pick up on the façade. She did momentarily wonder why he would bother, but came to the conclusion that he was just making sure to keep her happy, and as such, more likely to continue honouring their deal.

His stupid façade aside, he was making some pretty good points in regards to the Ichibi. She would be more at ease if she were allowed to choose who would take the role, ensuring that they made progress towards fixing Suna's perception of jinchuuriki. Temari wouldn't let him know it, but even in knowing the false honesty behind them, Naruto's mildly sugar coated words of comfort were doing their intended task.

"I can choose the person… completely on my own?" she asked unsurely.

"Unless you want to run it by your council, but I wouldn't recommend that. He's your brother, so you should choose his successor, so to speak."

Temari had to agree with him on that. She had spent the past two days ordering her ANBU to shadow several members of the council that she knew to hold little respect for her to surprising results. She found that many of them were doing underhanded dealings behind her back. While it was mostly nothing serious, usually just involving blackmailing certain businesses and well off individuals for the purpose of petty personal gain, it did run the risk of escalating out of control if left unattended. As the new Kazekage, it was Temari's duty to keep such things in check, which for the moment, meant leaving everyone in the dark on what she was going to do.

She hummed thoughtfully. "A day at least, huh? Is the Hiraishin really that draining on you?" she asked.

Naruto deadpanned at her. "When you manage to use a technique to not only move yourself through time and space, but also a giant living construct of chakra that might as well be existing inside its own pocket dimension inside of your body, then you can earn the right to speak," he drawled. "Until then, please be quiet."

"I guess modesty isn't your strong point," Temari said, chuckling softly as Naruto narrowed his eyes at her. She was thankful to have at least one person who could act at least somewhat naturally around her, instead of being on edge and overly serious in the wake of Gaara's defeat like everyone else in the village. "Do you need anything? Food or something?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm fine," he said. "But if you don't mind, I'd prefer that only you and the ANBU know that I'm awake. I need a few hours to tend to some… personal issues."

Temari quirked her head questioningly before blushing brightly. "Oh! Uh, okay, I'll just be leaving you to it then. Although, if you'd prefer, I can have someone sent in here to help you with that. We do have kunoichi who specialise in such things," she said in embarrassment, turning her gaze away from the redhead.

Naruto too quirked his head questioningly before his face took on an expression of realisation. "Uh-huh, yeah, not what I meant. But thanks anyway. I'll keep that in mind in case the urge arises," he said casually. "But back to my actual meaning, I'll be leaving momentarily. I shouldn't be back for a little while, and it's to both our benefits if no one else knows I'm going."

"Um, alright… but how do you plan on leaving here without being seen?" she asked.

He smiled and bit his thumb. "By being clever," he said, putting his hands together in a hand seal. "Oh, and if you don't mind, please try to be here when I get back. I'm not quite sure what condition I'm going to be in after I'm done with everything," he added calmly before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Temari exhaled in relief. She was actually very glad to have misread his words. It would have been particularly embarrassing to have had to request one of her own kunoichi to personally attend to an S-rank jinchuuriki. Not that she thought any of the kunoichi would have refused. In fact, she was quite sure they would end up arguing over who got the job. Temari couldn't blame them either. Naruto was, in her own opinion, quite handsome. Annoying and smart-mouthed, but still good looking. It was just a shame that he seemed to already be taken, if his interest in Tayuya was of any indication.

Her personal musings made her almost disappointed by the fact that the boys companion was missing. She would have been the perfect person for Temari to ask questions regarding the enigmatic teen. Her mood quickly soured as the true reality of Tayuya's disappearance registered in her mind. It was no secret that the girl had been taken by Jiraiya and his team; a fact she found intriguing considering Shikamaru's insistence on letting the girl go. As it was, Jiraiya's actions were in direct violation of her authority as Kazekage. Even if the decision had yet to be confirmed officially, she was still the acting Kage. The Sannin's actions, despite his rights as one of the Sannin, was simply unacceptable.

Exiting the room with the haste and grace necessary to ensure no one could get a glimpse of its emptiness, Temari locked the door and turned to the ANBU she had stationed at said door. "No one is allowed in this room but me. Detain anyone who tries to go inside," she said, receiving a nod from the man before she began making her way back to her office, trying to avoid everyone she could along the way.

As she went, Temari carefully planned her next move. With Naruto now gone for a while, she could focus more of her attention towards finding whomever it was that tried to go behind her back and have Tayuya killed. Sadly, even if she found them, there wasn't much she could do. No one in Suna would approve of the perpetrator being punished too severely for his actions against an, at the time, prisoner. Coming to that realisation didn't present much of an issue for the blonde as she merely concluded that it would be in everyone's best interest to have the problem killed off.

Walking into her office, Temari pursed her lips in annoyance at having so much to deal with at one time. The repairs to the village were a simple task, but required more manpower than Suna had access to for it to be completed in a reasonable period of time. That left them in financial ruin, as they hadn't been able or prepared to take on any missions, let alone complete the ones that had been accepted before the colossal calamity that had befallen the village. Suna's income was frozen until they could get the place back into at least some kind of working form, and Temari worried that it would take too long before they could get back on their feet.

Laying her head down on her desk, Temari decided to make the most of the time she had. She would wait until Naruto got back before she made any potentially detrimental decisions. As far as she was concerned, right now was the worst possible time to anger the jinchuuriki. Although, if she was being honest, she was more worried about how to keep him happy once he returned, the revealing of his recovery being inevitable in the long run.

Closing her eyes, she allowed the exhaustion of the past few days to envelop her as she drifted off to sleep. She would go back to worrying about everything once she woke up.

* * *

Tayuya snarled angrily at the blonde, who she had easily determined to be named Ino, as she kneeled down in front of her for the umpteenth time since her capture. The redhead found the girl's name to be overly fitting as the urge to gut her like a stuffed pig became more and more prevalent as time dragged on. Surprisingly enough, Tayuya found that her anger towards the girl was comprised of several reasons, not all of which she was proud to admit either.

For one, Tayuya found herself mildly jealous of the blonde. It was clear that the pompous mind reader had gotten a good hand in the game of life when it came to looks. If she merely corrected her diet so as to not be so skinny, then the girl would become quite the bombshell in a few years. Not that she cared too much. The girl's appearance was easy to admire, but it was the rest of her that was sorely lacking in Tayuya's opinion. Ino's pathetically weak fortitude being one such factor for earning the redheads anger, which was made even more evident as the blonde flinched at Tayuya's growl.

The past two days had seen Ino spending more and more time inside Tayuya's head, and each session left its mark on the Yamanaka. Tayuya could see it in her eyes. The growing look of sympathy with every dark secret learnt, every horrid moment of her life relived within her mind, it was all becoming more and more frustrating. The blonde was supposed to be a kunoichi from one of the greatest villages to ever exist, and a Yamanaka to boot, and yet she was allowing mere memories of an enemy to cloud her mind. Ino was just lucky that she had yet to truly see anything from the darker corners of her memories, and if they maintained the pace they had been setting, then hopefully they would reach Konoha before that happened.

As it was though, Tayuya had found it a little interesting that Ino had rapidly increased the number of mind reading sessions in such a short time. Even now, as her two teammates slept, the blonde was up and ready for another leap into the redhead's mind. It was reaching a point of borderline obsession that Tayuya simply wasn't prepared to deal with, but luckily, for her, it was clearly obvious that Ino couldn't keep up her efforts. Tayuya's clear intentions of fighting the intrusion at every turn was enough to have the blonde backing away from her with an exhausted sigh.

"Do you think he'll come after you?" Ino asked softly, sitting herself down in front of the girl.

Tayuya tilted her head questioningly. "What?"

"Naruto. Do you think he'll come to rescue you?" Ino clarified.

Tayuya deadpanned at her. "Why the hell would I think that?"

The blonde shrugged. "Everyone likes to have hope in these kinds of situations," she said, a sly smirk forming as she gave Tayuya a knowing look. "Besides, I've been inside your head, so I know that you at least have the hots for him. I would think that the fantasy of him coming to rescue you would be tucked away somewhere in there."

"Yeah, right, because two little moments of sexual attraction automatically mean that I'm now fantasising about him as if he were some knight in shining armour," Tayuya snorted. "Do yourself a favour and grow up. That kinda thinking is going to lead you to a nice shallow grave."

"So you're telling me that you honestly don't think that he'll come after you, despite everything he's already done?"

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Why are you talking to me? Isn't the whole point of mind reading to eliminate the need for talk? It's not as if what I say to you means anything. You'll just find the truth out anyway," she said.

Ino smiled. "Well, it never hurts to at least try and be friendly."

"Says the girl that wanted nothing more than walk me straight to my execution."

"That was…"

"Before you started reading my mind," Tayuya interrupted with a sneer. "Yeah, cause that makes me feel so much better about this. I mean really, is my life is so fucked up that it's causing you to make a major one-eighty. Or are you simply that weak minded?"

Ino's face fell. "Well, it's not like I have much experience with this stuff. You're the first person I've ever interrogated to such an extent, and none of the others had ever gone through so much. How else am I supposed to react?"

"In most cases, you'd be expected to ignore your feelings," Shikamaru droned, earning surprised looks from both girls as he sat up and stared at them emotionlessly. "But this isn't exactly most cases," he added, moving to sit off to the side of both of them.

Tayuya groaned. "Fantastic, more talking. I still don't see why you can't just kill me already."

"I already tried that," Shikamaru said. "When Naruto brought you to Konoha for Tsunade to heal, I found you in the hospital and attempted to kill you. Obviously that didn't work out, since you're still very much alive."

"What happened? Did you shit yourself at the thought of actually killing someone?" Tayuya asked in amusement.

"Not exactly. I ended up stabbing Naruto as he tried to stop me, which I ended up realising was the best outcome of that day," he explained. "Later that day, there was a council meeting, the focus of which was Naruto. He shrugged off the stabbing as if it was nothing, but he warned me against ever making an attempt on your life again. I didn't heed the warning straight away, but after he held the village hostage for nothing more than his own and your safety, well, there wasn't much room to argue."

Tayuya laughed. "So he warned you, and yet you still decided to help capture me and drag me back for an execution? Oh, that is some downright stupidity right there!"

Shikamaru remained as cool headed as ever as he waited for Tayuya to calm down from her sudden laughing fit. "Smart, stupid, it doesn't matter how you label it, as long as I know that what I'm doing is right, then I'll be fine," he said. "I saw what he was prepared to do to Konoha at the mere threat of you being killed, or worse, and there wasn't a hint of unwillingness. I have no doubt that the result of your actual death would be far worse. You killed my teammate, my best friend, and I won't ever forgive or forget it, but I will not let my desire for revenge lead to the death and destruction of everything else I hold dear. Naruto will come for you eventually, and when he does, I intend to hand you back over to him in the exact condition that I helped take you in… alive and unharmed,"

"Until then, I suggest you get some rest. We don't have much further to travel until we reach Konoha, and if by chance Naruto doesn't manage to get to us before then, you will find yourself needing all the energy you can save. Compared to what you'll face there, Ino's mental readings will seem gentle," Shikamaru continued. He stood up and offered the two a bored stare, "I'm going for a walk. I suggest you take my advice. You should also get some rest, Ino. Pushing yourself too far won't do any of us any good."

As the Nara walked off, Tayuya took it upon herself to send a smug smirk in Ino's direction. "Well, would you look at that… seems that your village's stupid sense of honour and teamwork isn't quite as perfect as you'd lead everyone to believe."

Ino ignored her and took off after Shikamaru, quickly catching up to the boy's lazy walking pace. "What the hell, Shikamaru!" she hissed, grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him towards her. "Are you seriously prepared to give up on the mission like that? You would be betraying the village, betraying Chōji."

"We've already betrayed the village. Just wait, as soon as we get home, Tsunade is going to have all of us punished for continuing with the mission even after Jiraiya revealed his true intentions. I was there when she made it more than clear that Naruto wasn't to be messed with. We just kidnapped the one person anyone has ever known him to show a vested interest in. I'd say we crossed the line of betrayal a couple of days ago," he replied coldly. "And don't try to single me out on this. I've noticed your behaviour towards her change. How about you let me in on what you saw in her memories that made you so sympathetic towards her?"

"That isn't the point! Sympathy means nothing so long as I still intend on completing the mission. You're talking about it as if you never intended on finishing it at all."

Shikamaru sighed. "I already told you what will happen if we complete this mission. Whatever sentence Tayuya will get in Konoha, it won't be to Naruto's liking, and I highly doubt that he'll be so kind as to simply blackmail or ransom his way into winning," he said. "I don't care how strong Konoha claims to be. I don't care if we receive promises from people like Jiraiya that everything will turn out all right. I'm not willing to risk everything for a handful of people who want to control the Kyuubi, or even for the people who just want to see their idea of justice dealt."

Ino glared at him. "So what? Are you now perfectly okay with letting Chōji's killer walk free?"

"I was prepared to do that quite a while ago, Ino. After I calmed down from trying to kill her, I started to think about things. Do you know what I figured out?" he asked. "We're hypocrites who are just too self-centred to admit that maybe we should step back on things we've already stepped into. Tayuya was simply following orders when she killed Chōji, and while I can never forgive her for being the one who did it, I cannot see her as the reason Chōji died."

"But she killed him!"

"And?" he countered. "I've killed people, our parents have killed people, our friends, and eventually even you, will end up killing someone. It's a part of life for us. Suna was responsible for a lot of deaths during the invasion, and yet we are still allied to them. Tell me, why aren't we trying to enact vengeance on them?"

"That's different. They were misled and manipulated by Orochimaru into attacking us."

"So why are you so quick to want Tayuya punished for something that she was more than likely also manipulated into doing?" Shikamaru said, sighing frustratedly. "Look, I don't care what you want to believe, but I can't blame Tayuya for Chōji's death."

"Then who do you blame?" Ino asked. "If you've thought about it so much, and if Tayuya isn't the one, then who is it? Who do _you_ think is responsible for Chōji's death?"

Shikamaru snarled. "The one we were out there for in the first place…"

Ino's eyes widened in realisation as Shikamaru turned and began walking away with a scowl on his face.

"…Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

Temari sauntered tiredly towards her bedroom, feet dragging along the floor as she went. Anyone who saw her would be able to tell that she was barely awake, her eyes fighting to stay open as she kept a half-lidded gaze on where she was walking. Her earlier attempt at napping in her office had backfired almost immediately. Some of the council members, consisting most notably of those that didn't necessarily like her, had found her and had practically spent as long as humanly possible voicing their disapproval at her incompetence and unworthiness of the Kage title.

Thankfully, Baki had been more than willing to enter the scene and deal with things swiftly, but the damage had already been done. Temari forewent the sleep she so desperately needed and spent the rest of the day working herself into the ground in an attempt to not only make an early dent in the wall of issues that Suna now faced, but also to try and re-establish the reputation that some were no doubt already in the process of deconstructing. The result of this, however, was her now current state of exhaustion and a dull throb behind her eyes that promised the pain and misery of the headache to come.

Despite having remained in her office until late at night, only managing to get home during the early hours of the morning, Temari had yet to hear anything about Naruto's return. Neither he, nor any of the ANBU stationed at his room had come to update her on anything. She figured that he would simply show up tomorrow, but that didn't stop her from feeling annoyed. More and more pressure was being put on her to deal with the Ichibi before it had a chance to break loose again and the last thing she wanted to do was mess with the seal while Naruto was out of the village. But it wasn't her own meddling she had to worry about. There were many in Suna who overestimated themselves in many things, Fūinjutsu being a prime example. As strong as Naruto's seal may be, all it took was one idiot to make a single crack and the whole thing could fall apart.

Pushing most of her stressful thoughts to the back of her mind, Temari entered her room and sluggishly went about getting ready for bed. She didn't bother turning on the light, or even closing the door as she walked in, gently resting her fan up against the wall next to her wardrobe. It wasn't until she had stepped away from her trusty weapon that she felt the presence of someone else in the room. Without so much as a split moment pause in her step, Temari untucked a small fan from underneath the red sash around her waist. With the grace and elegance expected of a Kage's daughter, she spun around, whipping the fan around as she went, and unleashed a ferocious tornado of destruction that tore the room apart.

It was unclear if the intruder had been expecting such a violent response, but it was obvious that they were at least prepared for something of the sort. The notable lack of any blood or shredded body pieces was enough to let Temari know that they had managed to evade her attack. For a moment, the blonde even considered the possibility of having simply fabricated the sensation due to stress and lack of sleep, but the reappearance of the presence behind her quickly assured her of the reality of it all.

Reacting completely on instinct, Temari ducked, narrowly dodging a syringe aimed for her neck. Spinning on her feet, she whipped her fan around again and sliced deeply into the intruders leg before rolling back to avoid the retaliative senbon thrown at her. Getting back to her feet, she used her fan to deflect several more senbon before charging straight at the attacker, who was now quite easy to identify as a woman with a blank mask covering her face. Temari's eyes locked onto the syringe as she dropped her fan and grabbed the woman's wrist tightly. Suna might not have had much to challenge the other villages with, but poisons and toxins of all sorts were still a high point of their reputation. If she could simply obtain the syringe, then tracking down the origins of its contents would be a simple matter.

Temari swatted away the woman's attempted punch and kicked the sizable gash in her leg before grabbing her wrist with both hands and twisting her arm up behind her back. The woman seemed to ignore the pain, twisting against the hold to elbow Temari in the side of the head before turning and driving her foot into the blonde's gut. Temari reeled back slightly before the woman grabbed her hair and pulled her head up and to the side, giving her a clear view of her neck. Grabbing her wrist again, Temari dropped and twisted herself, dragging the woman along with her and rolling the both of them onto the floor.

She was quick to straddle the woman, pinning her arms up above her head and moving to take the syringe from her, only for her eyes to widen in horror. The syringe was empty. An almost unnoticeable pain in her neck was enough for Temari to realise that she had been stuck during their roll to the floor, followed by the rapid loss of feeling in her arms and legs that left her quickly slumping to the ground next to the masked woman. Her body felt excruciatingly drained as her eyes began to get heavier and heavier. Whatever she had been drugged with, it was damn strong, and left her at the mercy of the woman that was now stumbling back to her feet.

It wasn't until a few moments later that Temari realised that the drug wasn't going to knock her out completely. Instead, it seemed that she was going to be left paralysed and helpless for some time. Either that or she was simply resisting it really well. Considering all she knew from her brother's fascination with poisons, Temari was pretty sure it wasn't the latter. That only served to make her panic further, her mind racing in an attempt to figure out just what use she could be in this particular state.

Needless to say, none of her guesses were very pleasant.

She couldn't do anything but listen and watch as two men entered the room. One went straight for the woman, picking her up and walking her off, most likely to be treated medically. The second man walked up to Temari and picked her up before walking through the house to the lounge room. She was unceremoniously dumped onto a chair, pulled into a sitting position, and held there so that she was left staring at the elderly man sitting across from her who returned her stare with a single emotionless eye.

Danzō Shimura.

"If it is any consolation, Tsunade has nothing to do with this," the crippled elder said, "I am working completely of my own volition. You however, will not be granted such luxury."

Temari glared at him in silent rage, completely disregarding her confusion at being held hostage by one of Konoha's most respected elders.

"It has come to my attention that the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi has become… vulnerable. With the Kyuubi jinchuuriki also apparently residing in this village at this current time, I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity," he explained. The narrowing of the girl's eyes was enough to give a response as he turned to look over to the corner of the room, the man holding Temari's head turning her to see the dead bodies of three Suna council members. "Only fools believe that betrayal will be met with anything other than further betrayal. It is surprising how many in this village are so eager to turn at even the slightest hint of a reward."

Temari was turned to look back at Danzō.

"While it would be the far simpler outcome, I find it difficult to believe that you would ever betray your village. A truly honourable trait to have, especially for an aspiring Kage. It is unfortunate that you are not a shinobi of the leaf. Your loyalty and potential would have been quite the addition to my forces," he said, frowning as he levelled his gaze back to Temari. "Sadly, you are not a Konoha shinobi, nor are you a viable recruit for my own uses. Your position makes my job much more complicated than I would like… but never the less, I have ways to make even those as loyal as you bend to my will."

Temari wanted to snarl at the man defiantly as she mentally prepared herself for whatever he was going to try in an attempt to make her do what he wanted. No matter what it was, she was sure she would sooner die than give into anything he could dish out.

…If only the world was that kind.

She watched in growing confusion and horror as two more people walked into the room. Her sensei, Baki, and her brother, Kankuro. Neither of them seemed to notice her as they walked in and stood next to Danzō, their eyes dead and unfocussed, as if they were just mindless puppets on a string. A rather interesting analogy considering Suna's fame for puppetry, and Kankuro's own interest in the art.

Danzō almost smiled at the look in the girl's eyes. "As you can see, while I might not be able to put you under my complete control for fear of being found out, those closest to you are not quite as unreachable," he said. "Despite your proficiency as a kunoichi, it is disappointing to see that you still hold the same flaw that so many are becoming too quick to develop. Attachment to others will be everyone's downfall, just as it is now yours."

"If you wish to see your teacher and brother remain alive, then I suggest you do exactly as I say. Failure to complete any of the tasks I give you, or will give you, will result in their deaths, so you will have no one to blame but yourself." He calmly stood up and tapped his cane against the ground, both Kankuro and Baki falling unconscious and collapsing in some sort of display of his control over the two. "The Kyuubi jinchuuriki belongs to Konoha, and as such I refuse to allow it to run off. The Ichibi is of little interest to me for the moment, so your co-operation would go far in ensuring that Suna retains whatever strength the beast still offers you. In the end, it is in your best interest as the Kage of this village to help me. Suna is in no position to do much of anything anymore, and without the aid of Konoha, it will surely fall."

The crippled old man internally smirked at his triumph, the hopelessness in Temari's eyes being of great amusement to him. With a subtle nod to the ANBU holding the blonde's head up, he gave the order for another syringe to be emptied into the girl's neck. "I'll give you some time to think things over and come to your senses," he said. "Once you wake up, you'll find that neither your brother or sensei will remember anything of what has happened here. Trying to warn them, or attempting to remove the seals, will result in theirs, and your, deaths." Danzō allowed himself to smile slightly as Temari's eyes became unfocussed. "I look forward to your co-operation."

As Temari finally collapsed into unconsciousness, Danzō began to fade, his image flickering out of existence to reveal another blank masked ANBU standing in his place. The ROOT operatives quickly went about putting Temari back in her room, making sure to clean up everything as they went and dispose of the council members' bodies. Unfortunately, for them, their proficiency helped little in regards to noticing the small square of paper peeling itself from a wall and flying off in the shape of a butterfly.

Sometime later, on the other side of the village, the butterfly finally returned to Konan, with all the information it had obtained. After processing everything carefully, Konan found herself in a difficult situation. Nagato had ordered her to stay out of anything not pertaining to the freedom of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, while also making sure that Akatsuki were not traceable to any of it either. But now, as _that_ man made his intentions known to her, she simply couldn't allow herself to stand by and watch as more lives were ruined by his manipulations and blackmail.

Her emotionless expression finally broke as her eyes narrowed into a furious glare, her lips twisting themselves into a snarl. Had anyone who had only known her since Yahiko's death seen her now, they would have thought her an imposter for showing such blatant anger. Rage filled her, and without Nagato around to object to her desires, Konan found herself barely holding back her need to slaughter every single one of Danzō's men. Luckily, she was able to compose herself before losing too much control, but that only led to a more calculated thought process on how to destroy Danzō's hold over Suna. Her amber eyes locked onto her Akatsuki ring as a plan began forming in her mind. One that would allow her some petty revenge, while also quenching some of her growing curiosity towards the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

Nagato would understand her reasons, and even if he didn't, Konan didn't care. This was something she had to do, something for the greater good of everything and everyone.

 _'…for the greater good of others,'_ she thought to herself, smiling sadly. _'It's what we formed Akatsuki for… right, Yahiko.'_

She took a calming breath before setting her face back into its usual emotionless expression. She had some people to kill and a jinchuuriki to question, and she knew exactly the man to help her with it all.

* * *

Naruto was more than a little pleased with himself as he reappeared, managing to drop himself in the exact spot he had left from. His brief moment of cheerfulness was extremely short lived however, as the presence of two others in his room became apparent. He didn't even need to extend his senses to know it wasn't Temari. Whomever the two were, they had far too much chakra to be the young blonde, and the ANBU that were supposed to be guarding his room were mysteriously absent. That left a few possibilities open for consideration, but no matter which one it was, Naruto was less than happy about having to deal with yet another problem so quickly.

He had already started to regret coming to Suna in the first place anyway, so this was just more icing on the cake that was being repeatedly smashed into his face.

With an unimpressed look on his face, Naruto turned calmly to stare at his would be assassins, kidnappers, or whatever they were hoping to be, only to come face to face with two people he truly, honestly didn't want to be facing. A taller woman with blue hair and amber eyes, and a short, hunched over man with half his face covered. Both of whom donned the red cloud patterned cloak of the Akatsuki. To say the Naruto was surprised would be mostly true, despite him having jokingly considered them as a possibility just seconds beforehand.

Maintaining the tense silence that hung in the air, Naruto studied the two, preparing himself for whatever shit storm they were intending on putting him through. It was clear that they too were studying him, with the woman being the most interested in seemed. In the back of his mind, he really hoped it was simply because she wanted to kill him the most. Having an Akatsuki member interested in him in _that_ way would be on a scale of messed up he just wasn't willing to live with. Still, it would make for an interesting fight none the less.

The man, if he could be called that, was quite possibly the most dangerous, if Naruto's assessment was anything to go by. His apparent stature left a lot to the imagination as to what was hidden underneath his cloak and his chakra was far too well contained, as if its very movement was a conscious action on his part. His seemingly uninterested staring was also not a good sign in Naruto's books. He was obviously very confident in his skills to so casually disregard a prime opportunity to assess an opponent before a fight.

As the not-natural redhead went about his assessment and calculations, Konan went through her own, quickly being more than a little unimpressed with the boy that stood before her. He wasn't reacting in any way that made sense for the situation, and that unnerved her. She was very careful to make sure that her presence until now went completely unnoticed, so it should have been impossible for him to have prepared for an encounter with the likes of Akatsuki. Yet, in spite of that, he was disturbingly calm and composed.

His calmness, however, did nothing to hide his fatigue, as the boy was quite clearly still recovering from something highly exerting. Even in knowing that though, Konan couldn't help but be slightly humbled by the jinchuuriki's chakra, and she doubted that Sasori was much different. The only other person she knew to have such an oppressive and thick chakra presence was Nagato, but even then, her lifelong friend couldn't quite match the untamed wildness of the chakra that resided within the boy. Her further probing with her senses only led to a slightly alarming discovery.

…his chakra was growing… rapidly.

She wasn't sure how, but Konan was certain that the jinchuuriki's reserves were expanding exponentially as they were simply standing there. At the rate he was going, and assuming that he wasn't going to slow down anytime soon, it was shockingly apparent that he was easily capable of matching both Nagato and Kisame in pure chakra quantity. The weight of the increasing chakra presence bore down on the two Akatsuki members, seemingly warning them, while also outright daring them to make the first move.

"We aren't here to fight," Konan said quickly, trying to defuse the situation before they were left fighting an enraged jinchuuriki.

Naruto smirked at her, his chakra continuing to grow in both quantity and weight as dark orange markings formed around his eyes, two lines seemingly dripping their way down from his eyes to cut through the noticeably darker whisker markings on his cheeks. "Sorry, but I find that difficult to believe. And if you think I'm going to let you have the Kyuubi without a fight at all, then you are sorely mistaken."

Sasori growled from his place next to Konan, his cloak rustling slightly as a large segmented tail of bladed metal slithered out from under it. "This was a foolish idea. We are not equipped for this."

Konan narrowed her eyes at the jinchuuriki. She had heard of this technique before, but standing in the same room as someone applying it was a very strange sensation. The last time she had heard anything regarding the art of Senjutsu, it had been from Orochimaru as the Sannin had voiced his frustration in not being able to perfect it. Very few were said to possess the concentration required to use it efficiently, and the only person left who was known to apply it in battle was the toad sage, Jiraiya. To think that a boy, a jinchuuriki of all people, was able to master it was simply unbelievable.

"The Kazekage is in danger," she said sternly, feeling an immediate easing on the pressure focused on her.

Naruto frowned. "Explain," he said, putting his hand on the hilt of his katana and preparing for what was no doubt some ridiculous ploy to distract him before attacking him.

"Danzō Shimura. He has placed seals on the girl's brother and sensei. He means to manipulate her into doing whatever he wants, which I imagine doesn't bode well for neither you, nor this village," Konan explained.

"And I am supposed to care about this, why?" Naruto asked flippantly, earning a surprised look from Konan and an almost respectful one from Sasori.

"Do you not care about her in some way?" Konan asked curiously.

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "Even if I did, which I neither confirm nor deny, what makes you think I would be stupid enough to let you people know?" he asked. "You would just take note of it, wait until later, then come back, and kidnap her to use as leverage over me. Sorry to say this, but I already have a kidnapped girl to save, so I'd rather not have to deal with another one."

"The brat does raise a good point," Sasori growled.

"When did you two get into the village?" Naruto questioned curiously.

"I have been here for a few days, as well as being the one to orchestrate your escape from the high security wing of Suna's prisons. My associate here has only been in the village for a short time, as per my request," Konan explained.

Sasori pointed the tip of his tail at the woman in annoyance. "I am not comfortable with you telling him so much. Hurry up and get to the point."

"I agree. How about you just come right out and tell me what you want?" Naruto said. "If you aren't here to capture me, then I really don't know what else you could want. And your interest in Danzō's activities is rather… intriguing."

"Whether you choose to believe it or not, you should know that Akatsuki was first formed with the sole intention of bringing about peace to this world. And while that is still our main goal, our methods of obtaining it have changed," Konan explained.

"Uh-huh, sounds great. Let me guess, you plan on gathering the Bijuu so as to decimate enough of the world that exists now so that you can instil fear in those left in the wake of said chaotic genocide that any and all future generations never even dare to take up arms against their fellow man for fear of bringing about another event like it? Sound about right?" Naruto rambled, quickly rolling his eyes at Konan's mild look of surprise. "You idiots are all the same. Thinking you're the first to come up with such a stupid plan. Why not try simply moving on?"

Sasori chuckled. "Finally. Someone else understand the childishness of it all."

"So… is that truly how you feel? Have you lost complete faith in the possibility of peace?" Konan asked disappointedly. "Shouldn't a sage be more optimistic about the outcome of the world around them?"

Naruto grinned. "Oh? So you know what this little trick is. That's interesting," he said flippantly, "However, I highly doubt that you came here to question me about my level of optimism. You said something about Danzō manipulating the Kazekage. Why bother telling me? Akatsuki is known to do dirty jobs, so why not simply align yourself with him in return for the Ichibi?"

"Hmm, a logical thinker as well. It truly is a shame that you are off limits, boy. You would have made a most invaluable spy," Sasori commented. "If you wish to know the reason behind our refusal to work with the likes of Danzō Shimura, then I would suggest asking our leader," he glanced at Konan, "And maybe her."

Konan remained emotionless. "There are… personal reasons behind it. Needless to say, you will never hear of Akatsuki working with Danzō."

"Duly noted. Now why are you here exactly?"

"The devastation wrought by Danzō's hand is widespread, and his reach is far more expansive than even the Hokage could imagine. I have experienced firsthand the pain that can be caused by the manipulations of that man, as has our leader. I wish to offer a truce between us so as to properly deal with his attempts at taking hold over this village," she said.

Naruto took a moment to consider it before crossing his arms and staring at them questioningly. "Why couldn't you two simply deal with it all yourselves? Why am I even a factor in this?"

Sasori grumbled. "Neither of us obtain the necessary knowledge or skill with Fūinjutsu to safely remove the seals placed on the Kazekage's brother and sensei," he said irritably, hating to admit his own shortcomings. "Based on my spy network, your talent in said field is exceptional; hence you are the only real option as of this moment. I have already dealt with the men that Danzō had sent here, but it didn't matter with them. Their minds were not needed to be intact. I highly doubt that such treatment would be accepted with the others."

Naruto nodded in understanding before turning his attention solely to Konan. "What's your name?"

She hesitated momentarily before answering. "Konan."

"Alright then, Konan. To ensure that you don't stab me in the back at some point, I'm going to need you to give me your ring," he said.

"How do you know about the rings?" she questioned sternly.

Naruto replied by pulling Orochimaru's ring out of his pocket. "It's amazing what you can learn by sifting through the right shitholes of this world," he said, quickly sealing the ring into his arm and holding his hand out for Konan's. "If it's consolation, I don't really know what you use them for yet, but I do know they are important in some way. If you truly want to have a truce between us, then you will need to hand over something that can at least ensure that you won't outright attack me."

Konan narrowed her eyes at him. "You'll keep it," she said accusingly.

"Maybe… and maybe you'll try to capture me. I guess neither of us can trust the other at this point, and I'm not comfortable working with you while you have the upper hand."

With the faintest of nasal huffs, Konan admitted defeat. The jinchuuriki made a very fair point, and she would never allow herself to work with the likes of herself had she been in his position. If there was any hope of getting him on her side against Danzō, then it was through mutual understanding and sacrifice. She took off her ring and looked down at it hesitantly. She knew it would hamper Akatsuki's efforts if yet another ring was lost, and she knew that Nagato would be hurt by her disobedience, but none of that mattered to her at the moment.

She tossed the ring to Naruto, who caught it and immediately sealed it into his arm. "Good, now, I have just one more question. Why do I need your help in dealing with anything here? You already told me all I need to know to deal with it by myself," Naruto said.

"I was hoping that this truce would go further than this one occasion," Konan stated. "Danzō is not someone I am comfortable with letting run free to do what he wants. As it is, you are the only person who has the readily available skill to counter his seals. An alliance against him would be the best outcome of this night."

Naruto nodded. "Right. So it's still just a personal reason for you," he said offhandedly before turning to Sasori. "What exactly are your reasons for going along with her little plan here?"

Sasori grunted. "I am not bound to Akatsuki. Working with them is simply beneficial to my own desires and goals, as is going along with this plan. So long as I get what I want, I am more than happy to keep my mouth shut."

"And what do you get out of this?"

The puppet master chuckled. "More puppets for my collection and more spies in prime locations."

"Fair enough," Naruto said, shrugging slightly before adopting a thoughtful expression. "Alright. I'll work with you for the sake of dealing with Danzō. The old geezer has been on my case for a while now too, and to be honest it was getting quite annoying. But before we do anything, I'm going to need the Kazekage and her brother. Konan, you go and retrieve Temari. Tail-guy, you go and grab her brother. Bring them both back here and wait for me."

"And where exactly are you planning on going?" Sasori growled, visibly annoyed by his new title.

Naruto smirked. "You said Danzō thinks he has a hold over Suna, right? Well, I'm going to make sure that he still thinks he does. Wouldn't bode well if he knew he had been cut off so quickly. If anything I've heard about him is true, then it would only make him bolster his efforts."

"And how exactly do you plan on accomplishing that?" Konan inquired.

"With a little bit of luck, and a whole lot of ass kissing," Naruto answered, pursing his lips as he did so. "It might even damage my pride. But that's for me to worry about. You two hurry up and go get the other two. I'll handle the sensei."

The two Akatsuki members watched as Naruto left quickly, a tense silence once again taking over the room.

"I trust that you meant what you said about keeping quiet?" Konan asked.

Sasori began slowly shuffling towards the door. "I am a man of my word. I shall remain silent for so long as this venture proves to be to my interest or benefit. However, it is you who should really be thinking about this. How do you think your friend is going to react to you taking these actions of your own accord?"

Konan frowned. "Just do as you're told. I will deal with Pein when the time comes."

The puppet master gave another chuckle. "Of course you will. Or, who knows… he might finally deal with you."

As he left, Konan took a moment to consider his words. While they were childhood friends, both she and Nagato had drifted slightly over the years, mostly due to the drastic change in her friend's outlook on life. Still, she doubted they had drifted far enough for him to do anything drastic to her for something as simple as this. She had been one of the founding members of Akatsuki, so Nagato knew that her actions, no matter if they interfered with Akatsuki's current goals, were at least done in respect for what they had once strived to accomplish.

But in the end, it wasn't Nagato turning on her that she was worried about. Such things were common in the shinobi world, and she accepted that. No… it was what she would do with herself should Nagato turn on her. After all, he and Akatsuki were all she had left.

She just hoped it didn't come to that. Because if it did, then she would have nothing left to lose, and nothing holding her back.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Sorry for the hold up guys, I've just recently moved house and have been very busy. Now, as expected, the responses I received about my ability to write fight scenes was enough to cement my own personal opinion on said subject. Needless to say, I suck at fight scenes. This chapter had a small and rather pathetic fight in it, but from here on, I will be trying to keep the fights to a minimal, if not non-existent. Conflicts in the story will go one of two ways from here, being one: badly written messes from me, or two: off screen occurrences that don't require me to actually write them out yet keep the consequences in play with the rest of the story. Any and all advice and tips on writing fight scenes will be much appreciated.

In regards to the story, as you can see, Konan is playing some sort of part in things. I'm not entirely sure where I'll be taking her with it all, but I hope it isn't too stupid or unbelievable for you guys to read. Everything else is coming along slowly, unfortunately. My writing has been slowed recently by my move, as well as the increase of work in my TAFE courses. I don't know when my next update will be but I really hope it isn't too long of a wait for you all.

Reviews, as usual, are much appreciated and happily welcomed. Seriously, they help.

Not much else to talk about this time, so I'll have to catch you all next update.

Soul out!


	11. Consequences

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Temari woke to a throbbing headache and a more than frustrating slothfulness to her actions. The poison she had been dosed with was obviously still affecting her, dragging out the process of waking up to the point of being unbearable. However, it did give her some time to think about what had transpired before she lost consciousness. It sickened her to do so, but she had no other choice than to do as Danzō instructed. It was either that or lose all that she had left.

She buried her face into her pillow, wanting to simply will away her problems and responsibilities and let things go back to before her world was flipped upside down. Her moping was cut short thankfully, as Temari finally noticed that she was in her own bed. From what she could remember from the night before, she had been left on the couch, and she highly doubted Danzō's men to be kind enough to put her to bed. There was the possibility of either Baki or Kankuro having found her upon their own waking and did it, but all things considered, Temari felt that a healthy amount of paranoia was warranted.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Temari looked around until her eyes locked onto the sight of Naruto… who was currently passed out on the other side of her bed. She stayed silent and unmoving for a short time, trying to calculate her next move regarding the jinchuuriki. Danzō wanted him for his own purposes, but she had a deal to honour and a Bijuu to have resealed. Even after all the time she had been given, she still hadn't thought of who would be the best fit for Suna's next jinchuuriki.

She continued to watch Naruto sleep for a while, feeling strangely content at watching someone be so calm and carefree, idly wondering if she looked as peaceful when she slept. As it was, Temari was simply happy to have a distraction for the time being. The peacefulness of the moment was torn apart as Naruto rolled over in his sleep and wrapped his arm around her waist, burying his face into her stomach to make possibly the most awkward situation Temari had ever been a part of. It only got worse, however, as her reactive tensing caused Naruto to look up at her groggily.

"You really need to learn to relax more," he said tiredly, before rolling onto his back and resting his head in her lap.

Temari glared down at him. "Are you comfortable there?" she growled irritably.

He shrugged. "I've been less comfortable. It would help if you would calm down and stop being so depressed," he paused to open one of his eyes and stare up at Temari oddly. "You and Tayuya would get along I think, she also looks kind of cute when she's angry."

The blonde blushed slightly, huffing in annoyance as she chose not to escalate things any further. She did technically owe him quite a lot, and letting him use her as a pillow was really not that big of a deal compared to what he could be asking of her. "When did you get back?" she asked curiously, refusing to make eye contact with him.

Naruto smirked. "Just after your little talk with Danzō," he said casually, grimacing slightly as Temari tensed even more than before. "Alright, now I'm uncomfortable. What are your muscles made out of? Stone?"

"Shut up!" Temari snapped. "How much do you know?" she demanded.

"About what? Danzō?" Naruto asked. "Well, aside from his blackmailing you through your brother and sensei, along with his apparent desire to control me, not much. But now that he's decided to intrude on my plans, I'm going to be finding out a lot more."

Temari frowned. "Yeah, about that. I'm not sure what kind of part I'm supposed to be playing in this little plan of yours, but until you explain it to me, then you can forget about me helping you at all," she said sternly. "I'll honour my part of the deal, and give you what you will need to get an arm built for your friend, but I refuse to go any further into this ordeal wearing a blindfold."

"I can understand that, but what good do you think you are at this point? Danzō has you on a tight leash now. It's either help me, or watch the two people you care about most die. No offense, but I highly doubt that honour conquers love when it comes to you, and you have anything but positive feelings towards me. Why should I trust anything you say anymore?" he inquired cockily.

Temari was quiet for a moment before looking down at Naruto apologetically. "You're right, you can't trust me. I will always choose my family over anything else," she said softly. "I guess that makes me a pretty poor Kage, huh? Oh well, I'm not even in control any more. I can't help you, but I don't have to stop you. I'll keep quiet and let you get out of here. It is the least I can do."

Naruto gently poked her forehead. "You are too kind hearted for your own good, you know that?" he said. "That alone could be all the incentive Danzō needs to kill your family, and you were going to do it anyway. It would be safer to just try and have me captured again."

"Trust me, I would if it was anyone else," she said. "But you… I owe you. My life is pretty much already over at this point. I'll either be controlled for the rest of my life, or be killed off and replaced. And so… I want you to take the Ichibi with you when you go. Danzō can't have it, and neither can that Akatsuki group you were talking about. Take it and find a proper vessel for it, one that will make sure my brother's death wasn't in vein."

Naruto poked her again, only much harder this time. "Stop being an idiot. Family first remember. Family always comes first. You owe me nothing… well, not quite yet anyway."

"Ow! What the hell! I'm trying to be nice here! Just take the damn opportunity and run. And what do you mean by not owing you yet? You saved the village. We all owe you."

"Technically, yes, I did. But I'm also the reason that the village is mostly in ruins right now, so I don't feel too comfortable in taking credit for 'saving it', as you put it," Naruto said. "But enough about me for the moment. I want to know what you're going to do. What move are you going to make now that you're so thoroughly boxed in?"

Temari laid back down with a blank expression. "You have until sundown to get out of the village. After that point, I will offer you no assistance or mercy. My shinobi will be ordered to capture you on sight and hand you over to Danzō," she droned monotonously. "That is the best you will get from me."

Naruto sat up and smiled. "A wise decision. Not too smart on your part, but wise either way," he said offhandedly. "But my leaving won't be necessary. You see, while you were having your beauty sleep, I teamed up with some rather… unexpected allies. Your sensei and your brother are safe from Danzō's meddling for the time being. I removed the part of the seal that allows for Danzō to kill them on command. But, he will still be able to control them and pry information out of them. That is, unless you choose to meddle back."

The blonde sat back up quickly, staring at Naruto with a combination of curiosity and determination. "Continue."

Naruto smirked and held out his hand expectantly. "Hand please," he said, Temari acting on the prompt and giving him her hand. "I'm sorry in advance for this," he said quickly, pulling her arm towards him and biting into her wrist before she could react.

Temari let out a startled yelp as she felt him bite into her wrist. Her surprise didn't last long though, as if was replaced almost immediately by searing pain as the fresh wound began to burn. As soon as she felt his jaw ease off, she pulled her hand back and glared at him angrily. "You better start giving me a good explanation!"

"I just put a seal on you. It'll link you to the seals on both your sensei and brother. Now, you will be completely aware of when they are being controlled by Danzō, as well as where they are at the time. You can choose to break his control at any time, but once you do, he will know about it. You should also be able to limit the amount of information that they divulge to Danzō. Basically, it's a way of them staying completely loyal to both you and Suna, while also giving the old cripple the impression that he is still in control," Naruto explained, pausing as he noticed Temari wincing in pain. "Got the headache yet?"

"Yes, I have the headache," she growled.

"Yeah, I expected something like that would happen. It's just your mind adjusting to things. Most of the seal's functions run off your subconscious and conscious thoughts, so it's pretty much automotive from this point," he said. "You can mostly forget about Danzō being too much of an issue for you so long as you play along with things for a while. Hopefully I'll be able to sort out a more permanent solution with enough time."

"If you already sorted everything out, then why the hell did you keep asking me what I was going to do? If I had of known this before, I wouldn't have told you to leave," Temari asked irritably.

Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "I was just curious as to how you would react in such a situation. Personally, I'm a little touched that you would go so far and risk so much just to give me a chance of escape. Really thoughtful and caring of you to do that. But while we're dwelling on that, I want you to think about something. As a Kage, you are expected to give anything and everything in order to maintain the safety and prosperity of your village and its people. As a person, you were willing to give up your freedom and possibly your life for the safety of your family. See the connection?"

Temari's expression softened slightly. "So, the people of the village are the Kage's family?"

"Exactly. And as Kage, you are expected to love and protect each and every one of your village's people as if they were family," he said. "The Sandaime Hokage had a similar teaching. Something about the people being the king and shinobi being the king's loyal guard. A good idea, but flawed. Loyalty and honour only go so far, and both can be broken. Love is near faultless, and there is no stronger love than that which exists between family. Remember that, and I have little doubt that you'll prove to be one of the greatest kage to rule over Suna."

The blonde gave him a perplexed look. "Why are you telling me this exactly?" she asked.

Naruto smiled and patted her on the head. "The world is changing, and we need new Kage who don't stick to old traditions to help lead the next generations into what will hopefully be a brighter future. I hope for you to be one of the ones who help change things for the better," he explained. "I'm also telling you this because I am actually a clone. The real me is already on his way to Konoha to get Tayuya back. I'll dispel soon enough. If the real me manages to save Tayuya, he'll be on his way back here to have an arm made for her. That also gives you a little more time to think about the Ichibi situation."

Temari nodded in understanding. "I'll do my best to have everything ready for your return then. It is the least I can do for you," she said.

"Good. That'll speed things up a little," he said, standing up with a sigh. "Anyway, my job is finished here. Unless you have some other use for me, I might as well dispel now, if you'd be kind enough to give me a hand."

"You can't do it yourself?" she asked.

"I could, but it comes off extremely suicidal when I do. The mental feedback of it all makes for a very interesting train of thought on my part. So yeah, if you don't mind just giving me a quick stab with something, I'll be on my way. It is probably best to let the real me know that the discussion with you went smoothly."

Temari quirked her head curiously. "So, I just 'kill' you, right?"

The clone nodded. "To put it simply."

A cruel and malicious smile stretched across Temari's face as she stood up and collected a kunai from her bedside table.

"I'm not going to enjoy this am I?" the clone asked fearfully.

"Not really. But you don't get a choice in the matter," Temari said smugly before lunging towards the terrified clone.

Needless to say, the real Naruto suddenly had second thoughts about returning to Suna.

* * *

Tsunade forced herself to breath slowly and deeply. Her face was emotionless, but anyone in the room could tell that her temper was teetering on the edge, an edge that lead to the destructive equivalent of both an earthquake and a volcanic eruption going off simultaneously. For the individuals that stood before her, this was without a doubt one of the most humbling and terrifying experiences of their lives. To be so completely sure of your own death and destruction despite absolutely nothing having been done in the physical world.

It went without saying that the Hokage possessed a killing intent that seemed to almost stretch the realm of possibilities, and it was now currently aimed at her idiot teammate and the poor, stupid little genin that had followed his equally stupid plan. The only one who wasn't reacting to the Senju's invisible reaction to the situation was none other than Tayuya, who was still bound and was now left kneeling before the Hokage.

"ANBU, unbind the girl," Tsunade ordered calmly, her cold eyes staring warningly at the group to argue her command.

"Thank fuck. I haven't felt my arm for hours," Tayuya said, groaning in relief as the binds were removed. "Okay then, how's this going to work. You just going to kill me now, or do I have to sit in a cell somewhere and wait for it?"

Tsunade turned to her with the same emotionless expression. "My ANBU will take you to a room where you will await my arrival. We will discuss further what is to be done with you after I have dealt with the other issues that have arisen. Until then, if you need anything, simply ask," she said.

They all watched as the foul-mouthed redhead was lead out of the room by the ANBU with a confused look on her face. As soon as the door shut, Tsunade's attention returned to the team that had brought the girl to her in the first place. "You three are dismissed. You will receive no payment for this mission, and you are hereby suspended from active duty until I deem otherwise."

"What?" Ino yelled indignantly. "You can't do that."

Tsunade glared at her fellow blonde. "Do not argue with your Kage, girl. Now get out. Be assured that I will be personally dealing with each of you once I find the time and patience," she said warningly.

Shikamaru bowed respectfully before grabbing both Ino and Tenten by the wrists and dragging them out of the Hokage's office before they could say anything else, leaving only Jiraiya to suffer the woman's wrath.

"Well, at least one of them has some proper respect for my authority," Tsunade muttered, her eyes shifting to her teammate. "If only you were smart enough to take a page from his book."

"Now, now, Tsunade. I can explain," Jiraiya said.

The woman scoffed. "Don't bother," she spat. "I know damn well what you'll say. That it was in everyone's best interest. That capturing the girl was the only way to get Naruto back to the village. That I should just trust you and that everything will work out fine once he's back and you've had a chance to talk some sense into him. You know, I really wish I could believe all that. But I can't."

"Just hear me out."

"No!" Tsunade yelled. "I am done with this! Done with you running off and doing whatever is it that _you_ want to do. Ever since you became a sage, you have been impossible to control. You've become reckless and dangerous. Your actions could very well have just sealed the fate of this village, and yet here you are trying to convince me that it was the right thing to do. You went against sensei's wishes, against my orders, against everything! How am I supposed to ever trust you again after this?"

"I won't just leave him out there to be targeted by Akatsuki!" Jiraiya argued.

The Hokage rolled her eyes. "Oh just stop it with that pathetic excuse," she drawled. "Naruto isn't any safer here than he is out there. We couldn't find him for thirteen years, Jiraiya. No one could. Akatsuki would need to find him before they were even able to do anything, and being here only makes that easier for them. It would be smarter to simply offer our support to him so that if Akatsuki does find him, he can call us to him for help. But no, you didn't think about that, did you. You don't think about anything aside from a woman's chest and your own useless pride. Just face it, Jiraiya. There is nothing you can do now to make up for not being there when Naruto needed you. There's nothing either of us can do."

"So that's it?" he asked. "We give up? Don't you even want to try to make up for your mistakes?"

"I _was_ trying to, you idiot. But now, since you've taken it upon yourself to capture Naruto's companion with the help of some of my shinobi, I suspect that he now assumes I played a part in your stupid idea. Any chance I had of earning his forgiveness, or ever being recognised as his family, it's all gone because of your screw up!"

Tsunade took a moment to recompose herself. "I'm sorry Jiraiya, but I can't trust you not to do something stupid if given the chance. Your rights and authority as a Sannin are hereby suspended until further notice. You are to be classed a jonin of Konoha, restricted to its walls unless ordered by me otherwise. If you step out of line, if you do anything that I deem irrational or irresponsible, I will have you completely stripped of your titles and removed from active duty until you prove you can be trusted again."

Jiraiya remained silent. He knew damn well that he wasn't talking to his teammate anymore, but to the Hokage. While he wished to argue, to keep pushing his point until she saw things his way and agreed to help him in getting Naruto to come back to the village, he knew it would only worsen the current situation. As such, he took the consequences of his actions without complaint. Besides, once he got a chance to talk to Naruto, he was sure it would all work out and then Tsunade would have no choice but to forgive him. It was all just a matter of time now.

"You had best hope that when Naruto comes here for the girl, this village is still left standing after he leaves, because if it isn't, I will personally see to it that you suffer for what you've done," she warned. "Now get out of my office."

Tsunade watched as Jiraiya left with no complaints. She knew that he was still confident that he was right, so cocksure that he had done what was best. It infuriated her to know that someone could be so naïve and self-righteous. She wished she could force him to see the error of his ways, but she had already done all she could. As Hokage, she could only go so far with such matters. One of the reasons she despised politics to begin with. The more political power you possessed, the more severe your crimes were depicted as. There were only so many times she could beat someone to within an inch of their life before it would come back to bite her.

Deciding to take some time away from the office, Tsunade headed towards the room she had her ANBU take Tayuya. Upon entering, she was a little surprised to find the redhead stuffing her face with a variety of food. Judging by the stack of plates beside her, the blonde surmised that the girl had been eating her fill since she had arrived in the room. It wasn't until Tsunade realised that Tayuya was ignoring her presence that she chose to actually do anything.

"Ahem," she said loudly.

"What?" Tayuya asked rudely, not stopping her eating as she looked expectantly at the Hokage.

"I trust that you are enjoying yourself."

Tayuya shrugged. "This could be my last chance to stuff my face before you fucks kill me, so I'm making the most of it."

"Could be?" Tsunade inquired curiously.

"Yeah. Depends on whether or not that whiskered faced moron manages to break me out of here. I have my doubts about it," Tayuya said flippantly.

Tsunade held back a chuckle at the name the girl had used for Naruto. "Yes, Naruto. You're his companion now, right?"

"Companion, slave, prisoner, make of it what you will. I'm stuck with the idiot for now."

"How has it been being stuck with him since you woke up?"

"What do you care?" Tayuya asked, giving Tsunade a strange look. "Hang on; you aren't one of those stupid therapist people, are you? Trying to get into my head until I cry like a little bitch so you can prescribe me some dumb medication that leaves me shitting and pissing in a diaper."

Tsunade cracked a smile at that particular comment. "Sadly, I lack the people skills or necessary sympathy to be a therapist. I am a doctor though. In fact, I'm the one that managed to keep you from dying when Naruto first found you."

Tayuya took a few moments before her eyes widened in realisation. "Uh, am I supposed to thank you now or something?"

"Only if you want to."

"Eh, forget it then."

"So?" Tsunade asked.

"So what?"

"How has being stuck with Naruto been?" she repeated.

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "How do you think it's been?" she asked sarcastically, pointing to her missing arm. "I lost a limb, possibly got molested while I was in a coma, got dragged across the bloody continent, and got kidnapped. Now I'm here talking to you."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Molested?"

"He denies having done anything, but I find it hard to believe. I mean, come on. I might be missing an arm, but I'm still hot. Hell, if I were a guy, I'd take advantage of me in a coma too."

"Are we still talking about Naruto here?"

"Ugh, I still hate his name. So stupid. Why not just name him cock-gobbler and be done with it. At least then it's actually funny and not just embarrassing."

"Yes, well, you'll have to take that question to his parents," Tsunade said with a smile, knowing full well how Kushina would react to such a comment. It would be very amusing to see the fear that woman would instil in Tayuya. "For the moment, however, I just have some questions I'd like to ask you."

"Yeah, yeah, ask away. Not like I have anything better to do," Tayuya mumbled. "Don't think I'm going to just tell you everything you want though."

"Fair enough. I'll start with a simple one. Do you have any idea as to why Naruto is so interested in you?" Tsunade asked.

Tayuya snorted in amusement. "Nope. But I still think he just wants to sleep with me. Either that or he wants to use me to get information for him. In all fairness though, he could want me for worse, so I'm not really prepared to complain about it just yet."

Tsunade frowned. Naruto was obviously withholding the results of her examination from Tayuya. She wasn't sure why, but for the moment she felt it best to maintain the secret. The last thing she wanted was to piss him off any more than he already would be. Still, it begged the question. Why did he have her verify the girl as a partial Uzumaki if he didn't intend on doing anything with the information. Unless he was still trying to figure out what to do with her himself.

"Has he said anything about what he intends to do in the near future? Where he might be heading?"

"Ugh, if only," Tayuya grumbled. "He's been dragging me around all this time, and I don't even know what the hell for. You're his friend, right? How about you do me a favour and find out yourself, then let me know what he wants me to help him with."

"If that were possible, I wouldn't be in here asking you," Tsunade said. "With saying that though, I need you to tell me anything you can about Naruto. You are the only person he has ever been known to show an interest in. He must have at least hinted as to why he is keeping you with him."

The redhead stopped feeding her face and put the plate of food to the side. "Look, I get that you technically saved my life and all, but I'm going to have to stop here. I've already talked to you enough as it is, and I really don't want to piss the dickhead off. On the off chance that he actually comes here to get me back, I want to make sure that I haven't done anything he perceives as betraying him. He might be an ass, but he bought me, and he most likely paid a shitload for me considering my previous owner. I'm a bitch, but I'm not a bad investment."

Tsunade chuckled. "You honestly think that he thinks of you as property?" she asked in amusement.

Tayuya shrugged. "I don't care at this point. He bought me, he feeds me, hell, he doesn't even yell at me when I'm being a cunt. If he keeps putting up with me like that for much longer, then he can think of me as whatever he wants."

"You don't have very much self-worth, do you?"

"Nope."

"Would you ever consider aligning with a village?"

Tayuya laughed. "This shithole? With all you goody-goody tree-hugger pricks. No way in hell. I'd sooner take my chances back with Orochimaru."

"Alright then. Let's go back to Naruto."

"I thought we already established that I know jack shit about what he plans on doing."

"True, but I only need to know one thing, and I get the feeling that you might know the answer."

Tayuya quirked an eyebrow at the blonde. "And that would be?"

"When Naruto comes here for you, which he will… what kind of retaliation can we expect?" Tsunade asked.

Tayuya smiled cruelly. "From what I've been told, you idiots were warned before about messing with him. You all shat yourselves at the threat he made towards this village, but you took me anyway. I'd say, in my expert opinion, and from what I've seen of him so far, that once Naruto is done here, everyone in the elemental nations will know about it," she said, before breaking into a fit of laughter. "Nah, I'm joking. I don't have a fucking clue. It's impossible to guess what that idiot is going to do."

Tsunade sighed deeply. "Well, that was disappointing," she mumbled to herself. "Anyway, you are safe here so long as you stay inside this building. It would be in both our interests for you to avoid moving around too much. Staying here will make it that much easier for Naruto to find you."

"Huh, so you aren't planning on trying to execute me?" Tayuya asked somewhat disappointedly. "Those idiots in Suna wanted to do that. I would have thought Konoha would be quicker to get it done. You know… considering I played a part in the Hokage's death and all."

"My sensei was old and weary when he let himself die to stop Orochimaru, but he was still far beyond the point of you being of any difficulty to him. Trust me, had he only been concerned with his own survival at the time, he would still be alive and well right now. He made his choice, and he died for it, but I can assure you that he barely saw you as an obstacle," Tsunade said. "He allowed himself to die that day, so saying that you actually helped kill him is almost amusing. And no, we aren't going to have you executed. Or at least you won't be, so long as the rational people of this village have anything to say about it."

Tayuya frowned as she watched Tsunade walk to the door. "Who is he to you?"

"Who?"

"Naruto," the redhead clarified. "You wouldn't be asking about him unless he meant something to you, and he got you to heal me, so you must at least know each other. I want to know what he is to you and why you are so concerned with what he plans to do?"

Tsunade smiled sadly at the girl. "He's one of the last blood relatives I have left. It's a very distant relation, but with so few of both our clans left, it's still worth noting. I knew his parents relatively well, but I never got the chance to form a bond of any kind with Naruto aside from letting him know that I was at least a friend. That's my own fault though. I was too busy trying to drown my own problems to be there for him when he needed someone."

"So you knew him when he was younger?" Tayuya asked, receiving a nod from the woman. "Has he always been, you know, the way he is?"

She knew it was a long shot, but the Hokage could very well be the best chance she had at learning anything about Naruto. As it was, Tayuya highly doubted ever finding another person that knew anything about Naruto, or rather, anyone that was willing to tell her… if they were even friendly in the first place. Besides, she felt that her curiosity was perfectly justified. The guy was a confusing enigma to her at the moment, so she would take any chance to learn at least something about him if it meant possibly making even slightly more sense of him.

"Until rather recently, I've only met Naruto three times before," Tsunade answered. "The first time was shortly after he was born, back when he was nothing but a little bundle of excitement in his mother's arms. The second was just after his parents died, before the third Hokage made some… exceedingly poor choices. He was understandably heartbroken at the time, but also surprisingly positive for a five year old that had just lost everything,"

"The third time I saw him was the same day I agreed to return to the village and train to become Hokage. He had already been missing from the village for several years and had curiously come seeking me out. I had no idea it was even him. His habit of dying his hair must have started early, and he had grown considerably since our last meeting. I was still in a bad place back then, and as such, I brushed him off as I did everyone else. He got mad, of course, and spent a few days annoying the hell out of me, begging me to help with something. Then Jiraiya showed up. Naruto disappeared and stopped bugging me, but after Jiraiya explained everything to me, I understood why. I returned to the village that day, if only to make sure that the same mistakes that were made with Naruto were never repeated. I've also been sober ever since."

"Congratulations," Tayuya drawled. _'Well, that was no help at all,'_ she thought to herself bitterly.

"Look, if your curious about Naruto, then there is no better person to ask than him," Tsunade said. "After everything that's happened to him, I can't blame Naruto for keeping everything so well hidden. Chances are there isn't anyone alive that knows enough about him to sate your curiosity. Just ask him what you want to know. The worst outcome is that he just refuses to tell you."

"Yeah, because he is totally going to just tell me anything at all in the first place."

Tsunade laughed. "You would be surprised at what he might be willing to let you in on… so long as you prove to him that you aren't going to use it against him," she said. "Perhaps it's time you stopped trying to convince yourself that you're still a bad person, Tayuya. You have a chance at a new life now that you aren't with Orochimaru. Letting such an opportunity slip by would be a bad idea."

Tayuya tsk'd in annoyance. "Why don't you drop the act? You don't care about me or what I do; you only care about how I might be able to help you."

"I don't want or need your help. In fact, I'm sure that you couldn't help me at all," Tsunade said.

"Not even to help you form a bond between you and Naruto?" Tayuya asked snidely. "I'm sure a few well-placed words would go a long way, am I right?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Nothing you could do or say would ever make things between me and Naruto any better. Not that I would want you to, even if it did help," she said. "Choices have consequences, and I made too many of the wrong choices in my life. If there is one thing that the title of Hokage has helped me come to terms with, it is that sometimes it is best to live with the repercussions of your actions, not ignore them, or try to amend them. Some mistakes are meant to stay mistakes, and I am accepting mine as such."

The annoyed and perplexed expression on Tayuya's face was all that Tsunade needed to see to know that she had left the girl with something to think about. She took the chance to walk out of the room, closing the door before the redhead could say anything more. She slowly made her way towards her office, taking her time to enjoy the walk and truly admire some of the select few artworks that decorated parts of the Hokage tower.

Tsunade had no idea what the night to come would entail, or even what would be left in the wake of it, but she knew that things were going to change in a drastic way for Konoha. Jiraiya had acted on behalf of the village without intending to, and now it was just a matter of time before the consequence of his mistake was made known. She just prayed that Naruto was willing to show at least some form of mercy towards the village.

Not that she was willing to do anything to stop him if he didn't.

* * *

It wasn't until some hours later that Tsunade found herself sitting in her office, the stench of alcohol staining the air as she groggily set down the freshly polished off bottle of sake that had made up her long neglected stash. She wasn't drunk, unfortunately. What remained of her alcohol tolerance from her gambling days was more than enough to leave her capable of drinking most people under the table. But still, the sake had done its job, and her nerves were more or less calmed.

She slumped back into her chair and spun it around to look out over the village, the lights that usually lit it up now fading as the night grew too late. It was probably getting close to midnight now, and Tsunade had yet to hear anything even remotely notifying her to the potential presence of Naruto. As far as she was aware, Tayuya was still fast asleep in the room she had left her in. The blonde almost considered the possibility that Jiraiya had severely overestimated Naruto's intent on keeping the girl at all. Maybe Tayuya really didn't mean that much to Naruto after all.

That particular thought was thrown aside rather quickly however, as a slight glimmer in the night sky caught Tsunade's attention. Without much thought, the Hokage spun her chair to the side slightly and leaned back, narrowly avoiding a disturbingly familiar looking three-pronged kunai, which embedded itself deep into her desk. In a flash of red, and a pulse of what could only be described as 'spatial tingling', Naruto was standing on the other side of her desk, already quickly retrieving his kunai.

Tsunade glanced down at the mark left on the desk and looked up at Naruto with a smirk. "And here I thought Minato was a special kid. Barely out of your teens and already mastering techniques that no one else could ever dream to use. I'm impressed."

Naruto frowned at the woman as he looked sideways at the empty bottle on her desk. "I thought you were sober?"

"I was," Tsunade agreed. "But tonight, I think, is a special occasion; one that I'm pretty sure I don't want to be sober for."

"Were you involved?"

"In taking the girl? No."

"Was she interrogated?"

"Not since arriving at the village. I've kept her on lockdown inside the tower. No one but me has had any direct contact with her save for the ANBU that guarded her and tended to her needs. But, a Yamanaka was a part of the team that helped capture her. It is likely that Jiraiya had her try to scrounge up some information from inside Tayuya's head."

"I trust you understand that I can't ignore what Jiraiya has done," Naruto said. "This has gone beyond simply wanting me back in the village. He is now directly challenging me, and it is putting people in danger whether he knows it or not."

Tsunade looked down shamefully. "I know, and I wish I could do more to control him, to make him see reason, but he is too caught up in his own beliefs. The toads have convinced him that you are the child their prophecy refers to, and now he is committed to training you and ensuring that you aren't going to bring destruction to the world," she said, failing miserably at holding back a snicker. "Sorry, but that always sounds so stupid when I say it out loud."

Naruto smiled sadly. "I can't leave the village peacefully, Tsunade. You know that," he said. "I can't have people thinking that I am easily trifled with, and I can't have Jiraiya continuing his search for me. An example needs to be made. A warning for what happens when I'm crossed."

She mimicked his expression. "I understand. And I forgive you for what you have to do. I'm just sorry that I couldn't help you. That I wasn't there for you when I could have been. I'm sorry that it's all come down to this."

"You can still get out, Tsunade," he said softly. "I am willing to let you leave; to live and continue fighting to make this village what your grandfather wished it to be."

"No," she replied. "The title of Hokage is a sinking ship. This village is a sinking ship. It's already taken everything I cared about, and now, I think it's only fair that it drags me down with it too. After all, I had my chances to do the right things, and I let them pass by. There is no hope for this village so long as it continues to live with the smugness that now exists in its leaders. They need to be reminded that they aren't above everyone else. No one is. I think they've been long overdue for that lesson."

Naruto frowned. "I'm not joking."

"Neither am I, Naruto," Tsunade countered. "Although before everything goes to hell, I do have one question. It's been bugging me for some years now."

"Yes?"

"A few years ago, you came seeking me out for something. I never thought much of it at the time, or even for a while after, but for the past couple of years, it's been scratching at my mind. What did you want that you needed someone like me to help you?" she asked curiously.

Naruto's eyes widened for a brief moment before he forced himself back into his emotionless façade. The flash of sadness that flickered through his eyes in that moment of surprise was all Tsunade needed to see to know that she had yet one more horrible mistake to atone for, it was just a matter of finding out how bad of a mistake it had been on her part.

"Back then, I was still trying to piece together what was left of my mind. Filtering through the lies and the truth to figure out just who I really was. I had a friend helping me as best she could with what little we had at the time. But she ended up getting hurt while trying to help. You should know what Bijuu chakra does to the human body," Naruto explained coldly.

"The wounds got infected, and we didn't have money for medical treatment. It got bad, really bad. It was my fault, and so I took it upon myself to fix things. I had heard about you, about the Sannin and their unmatched skill. I thought one of you could have helped. Jiraiya wasn't an option, since he was already trying to track me at that point, but you and Orochimaru were. I couldn't find the snake, of course, but I found you. I had thought, back in my naivety, that you would help me. But you didn't… I buried her later that week."

"Naruto… I'm…"

"Sorry?" he interrupted. "I know. But it doesn't change what happened."

Tsunade gave a bittersweet smile. "I suppose that is just going to make what comes next that much easier for you then," she said. "For what it's worth though, I am truly sorry, Naruto. For everything."

"You said that Konoha was overdue for a lesson in humility. Perhaps you are too. Maybe all you ever really needed to do was learn how to be humble, to stop worrying about this village and what it's taken from you. It was all that loss that drove you to become the best medic in history, so why let that same loss be the reason that you don't help others to not feel the same pain that you do?"

She almost laughed at the fact that she was being lectured to by a boy less than half her age. But she wasn't going to ignore his words. Naruto was wise, in his own way. He would have to be, after so much struggle and hardship in life. It was just a shame that they couldn't have this conversation earlier in life.

"I guess I'm too late to see what life like that would be like," she mumbled. "Another mistake to add to the list."

Naruto calmly weaved several hand seals together. "Yes, I'm afraid," he said before gently breathing out a small orb of flame. "Far too late." The flame began to drip, the floor igniting immediately upon its touch as the orb of flame started to grow at a steady pace. "Goodbye, Tsunade," he said softly, vanishing in a flash of red.

Tsunade smiled and closed her eyes. "Goodbye, Naruto."

* * *

Tayuya woke up to a cold chill slithering down her spine, directly opposing the warm breeze that blew through her hair. She almost immediately regretted opening her eyes, as she was welcomed to the sight of the several hundred-foot drop down to the village below. Her immediate reaction was to cling to the nearest thing as tight as she could, which just so happened to lead her to discover just where she was.

She was atop the Hokage monument, being carried in Naruto's arms, one of which she was holding onto like a lifeline. It didn't take long after her short assessment of the situation for her to calm down, but even then, she was left slightly on edge. It wasn't the height, or even the fact that she had mysteriously woken up in a guy's arms, but rather the look in Naruto's eyes that was disturbing her. Tayuya was sure she had seen the worst of the worst when it came to haunting looks, but now, she felt herself doubting that surety.

The normally relaxed yet calculative light in his eyes was replaced by a cold emptiness that hid the slightest signs of regret. It wasn't until she followed his gaze to see what he was staring at that Tayuya was left completely speechless. The Hokage tower was burning, the flames towering up into the night sky and lighting up the village like a flare. Hundreds of people had gathered around it, all trying desperately to extinguish the fire, only to have it fight back with more ferocity with each effort. It was obviously the work of a jutsu, and a very powerful one at that.

It didn't take a genius to know that simply burning a building wouldn't be enough of a message to a village, even if it were the most secured and defended building, which also happened to be positioned right in the middle of everything. Tayuya was able to come to a conclusion rather quickly based on what she could see and understand, but it only made her stomach sink slightly. Naruto's cold eyes, the ridiculous efforts being made to put out the fire, it was all she needed to see to make sense of what he had done, of just what kind of message he was sending to Konoha.

In simple terms, he had told them, with absolutely no chance of misinterpretation, that he was not to be messed with, trifled with, or toyed with on any level. But it wasn't the message, or even the method of sending said message that left Tayuya truly shocked. No, it was the fact that he had done it because of her… _for_ her. It wasn't over pride, it wasn't because they had attacked him, and it wasn't even because they were making his life harder. It was because they had taken her. They had stolen her from him, and this, _this_ was how he responded.

Tayuya thought back to Tsunade's words from earlier in the night, about Naruto not seeing her as an object he owned, and found herself feeling unsure as to what that entailed. If he didn't view her as his possession, as something of potential value that he owned, then what did he see her as? What was she to him that would invoke such a violent reaction to her simply being taken away? She didn't know yet, and she wasn't exactly confident in guessing. All Tayuya knew, was that she, for whatever reason, was important to Naruto, and even if it was the last thing she did, she would find out why, whether she liked the answer or not.

Her attention was drawn back to the burning Hokage tower as the flames erupted upwards, twisting and contorting into a denser form as it began to take shape. A head, legs, long ears, claws, and a bared maw full of teeth were all overshadowed by a single trait that the creature possessed. Those of whom were gathered around the tower were paralysed in fear and a sickening nostalgia as the flames consuming one of the village's most sacred structures took the form of the Kyuubi, all nine tails swishing through the air angrily, leaving trails of fire and ember in their wake.

Tayuya wasn't fooled for long. Genjutsu was her specialty after all, and she had the fortune of spending a long period of time close to Naruto, becoming accustomed to his expansive field of chakra and the nature it possessed. That didn't make the jutsu any less impressive for her though. Seeing someone so casually combine fire nature manipulation with such a massive scale Genjutsu was something Tayuya was going to remember, and also strive to rival if possible. But while she, and a few other shinobi of the village were able to see through the falsity of it, the message such a scene portrayed was not lost by them.

The fake Kyuubi was a signature to show them who was responsible, but it also acted as a way to humiliate Konoha. The nine tails was without a doubt one of the greatest catastrophes to befall the village, and it left a wound that had yet to fully heal. Despite that, Konoha went on to boast about their survival, their victory over the greatest of the Bijuu, and now, that façade was being crushed. To have the Hokage tower destroyed by something that merely held the form of the Kyuubi was a massive slap to the face. As soon as word got out about it, then the other villages would know that without someone like the Yondaime Hokage around, Konoha wasn't anywhere near as powerful as they claimed.

It was a double-edged sword, however, and Tayuya knew that Naruto had considered it in such a way. Sure, this tactic got the message across, and it left its mark on the village, but it had its ramifications as well. There was little doubt that Konoha would ignore the warning, wanting to lash out in an act of revenge or 'self-defence', and with such a bold attack, it also stood to reason that the village would adopt a far more militaristic nature to ensure no further attacks succeeded. An act that might give them a few months or years of reprieve, if they were lucky, would only result in a harder future, and a more challenging enemy to deal with later on. That only made her more curious. He would have to know how bad of a move to make this was, yet he did it anyway, and he barely seemed to care about it.

"Why?" she asked quietly, earning Naruto's attention.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Tayuya wriggled in his arms, forcing him to put her back on her feet. "Am I okay?" she repeated in disbelief. "I should be asking you that. Look what you've done! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Naruto smirked at her. "Is that your way of saying that you care if I die?"

She growled angrily. "Don't change the subject!" she yelled. "I am sick of being left out of the loop with you. I want to know why the fuck you're doing all of this, and I'm not doing jack shit until you tell me why I'm apparently so fucking important to you!"

"I don't think this is the time or place to talk about it."

"I don't give a flying fuck! You're telling me right now or else I'm walking my ass right back down there to wait for my execution!"

Naruto was silent for a few seconds. "Fine then, you want to know why you're important to me. It's because of your organs."

Tayuya went silent as she stared at him owlishly. "Um… the fuck? My organs?"

"Orochimaru replaced most of them with the organs from someone else… an Uzumaki," he explained. "Your body's natural ability of accepting alien material and chakra allowed for you to adopt the organs almost perfectly. But, with so many organs having been replaced, your body didn't have enough of your own chakra left to alter the organs to your body, so it altered its chakra and then what was left of your body to match the organs. And now, you are practically an Uzumaki yourself."

"Okay, that's great and all, but why not just take the organs?" she asked irritably. "I assume you knew all of this before I was fully healed, so why didn't you just do away with me and secure the organs if they're so valuable to you."

"I considered doing that, but you're the only person that I imagine can handle having such a drastic transplant of so many Uzumaki organs. Besides, I wanted to find out if you were worthy of them before I decided to just kill you."

"And am I? Am I worthy to be a stupid fucking Uzumaki?"

Naruto chuckled. "So far."

"What if I don't want to be? What if I just want to be me and live the rest of my pathetic life like a normal person," she asked, pausing to glare at her missing arm. "A normal useless person that is," she corrected bitterly.

He sighed deeply. "Look, I'm not good at this sort of stuff, okay. I keep to myself for a reason. If you want to go off and live a normal life, then I'm not going to stop you. But before that happens, I need to at least give you a fighting chance."

She rolled her eyes. "Fuck off. You just want to make sure that I don't die so I can shit out more Uzumaki, am I right?" she asked, earning a surprised look from Naruto. "Yeah, I know that the snake fucker replaced some things down there too, dickhead. I'd have to be a retard not to."

Naruto frowned. "I had no intentions of using you for that, I swear. But if you were to decide to have kids one day, then I would prefer to know that you are at least safe to do so," he said. "The Uzumaki were wiped out for a reason, and I doubt that the villages that did it back then would be comfortable with any trace of the clan resurfacing. They would hunt you down and kill you if word got out, or worse."

"Yeah, I get it. Jeez, as if I wasn't completely fucked in the first place, now I have this shit to deal with," she grumbled. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to Naruto and punched him in the stomach. "That's for keeping it from me. Next time you keep a secret like that from me, I'll stab you. Understand?"

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, I understand."

"Good," she said. "Now, I think it would be a good idea to get out of here before they start looking around for you. But don't think this is over just yet. We are going to have a nice long talk about just where this bullshit is going, and you are going to tell me exactly what is it you're planning on doing from here."

"I think that's fair enough," Naruto said. "But for now, I think we should get back to Suna. Temari is expecting us at some point and the sooner we can get an arm made for you, the sooner you can get used to it."

Tayuya smirked. "How hard can it be?"

Naruto held back a laugh. "You'll find out soon enough," he said ominously.

In a flash, they were gone, the false Kyuubi soon losing form afterwards as the flames that had now burned down the Hokage tower finally began to die down. It wasn't until sometime after that the severity of the attack was truly understood by the village, as a single charred corpse was pulled from the ashes, identified easily by the jewel that was now melted into the flesh of the forehead.

Tsunade Senju, the fifth Hokage, and one of the legendary three Sannin… was dead… and there was absolutely no question as to who killed her.

Within the week, Naruto Uzumaki would become one of the most feared and wanted shinobi in the elemental nations, whilst in the same time Konoha would become one of the most ridiculed villages to hold the honour of being among the five major forces of the continent. It was now just a matter of time until Konoha responded to the attack, and there was no doubt that everyone else in the world would be watching the spectacle with their complete attention.

But if there was one thing that was certain, it was that by the end of everything, by the time the feud between Konoha and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki was over… only one would be left standing.

It was now just a question of which one would survive, and which one would fall.

* * *

 **A/N:**

So this chapter didn't take me all that long to write up in the scheme of things, much faster than I expected actually. Of course, I do think that it has something to do with the fact that I got to write another character to their death, which is always a fun time for me. Tsunade will be missed by a lot of us, but her death was somewhat necessary for my plans. The next chapter or two will finally see Naruto and Tayuya getting back on the move, so be prepared for the 'Suna Ark' to be coming to a close. I also have literally no idea where I should send them after that, but it shall be worked out in the process of everything. Any suggestions on what you guys want to see happen would aid in this process, so bring on the requests. It should be noted though, that I intend on having a time skip that correlates with the time skip in the anime. So, I'm mostly asking for what you guys might want to see before the time skip happens.

In other news, it looks like i'll be moving house again relatively soon, so don't be too surprised if there is a mild delay on the next chapter. After that is all over though, I should be back to my regular erratic schedule that I know you all hate.

Reviews are really appreciated, but please do me a favour and hold back on the potential flames I know you all want to throw at me for killing Tsunade, or rather the pathetic way that I had her die. As said above, any suggestions or requests regarding where Naruto and Tayuya will go after Suna and what they might do are also much appreciated. No guarantee that I'll follow anyone's suggestion to the T, but it might really help me formulate my own plan and design.

Till next time.

Soul out!


	12. Decisions

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Tayuya growled in discomfort as she fidgeted uneasily upon the cold slab of stone she was forced to lay on. How stone even got a chance to get cold in the middle of a desert was beyond her, but if she had to hazard a guess, she would say that it was made cold intentionally to annoy her. Not that she could be bothered to complain about it. Suna was a miserable place to begin with, what with it being hotter than most guys' wet dreams, so a cold slab of stone could almost be seen as a comfort. But after having to endure laying on it for the third day straight, Tayuya simply couldn't help but let it get on her nerves.

The 'torture', as she called it, started almost as soon as she and Naruto made it back to the village. After a rather rushed conversation with Temari, who all but refused to speak of or acknowledge the events that had taken place in Konoha, Tayuya was handed over to the care of an old hag for the purpose of preparation. What followed was a surgery to make her arm, as the old bitch had put it, compatible with a prosthetic. It made sense, of course, but getting a metal rod drilled into the bone of what was left of her arm was an agonising experience to say the least. The second day involved getting measured, weighed, and forced to do hours of tedious actions and routines with her right arm under careful observation.

Today seemed to only be about questions. Stupid, irrelevant question at that, in Tayuya's opinion anyway. Questions such as what she planned to do with the arm, how she lost her actual arm, and whether or not she wanted upgrades or spares. Somewhere between all of which the old hag managed to make several remarks concerning her and Naruto's relationship. It was obviously a ploy to get a rise out of her, so Tayuya played it as cool as she could for the most part. After all, it wasn't that hard to ignore everything around her after being with Naruto for so long. Compared to him, the rest of the world was easy to block out.

Or rather, it was… until the old hag decided to unexpectedly tighten the straps around the stump of her left arm, eliciting a pained growl from the girl.

"What the fuck!" Tayuya yelled angrily. She quickly rolled off of the stone slab in the opposite direction of the old bitch, only to be pulled rather pathetically to the floor by an unexpected weight. She looked down at her arm curiously, surprised to find that she actually had an arm there, in a manner of speaking. "Um, okay, now what the fuck?" she muttered questioningly, glaring demandingly at the old woman who looked as though she didn't care about Tayuya's existence.

"That is a temporary prosthetic for you to make use of while the finer details of your actual prosthetic are sorted out," Chiyo explained. "It is adjustable in numerous ways, so if it doesn't suit a specific purpose, you need only return and have it refitted. It is also necessary for your training to commence."

Tayuya blinked owlishly at the woman. "My training?"

Chiyo sweatdropped at the girl's question. "Didn't anyone explain to you how puppet prosthetics work?"

"Probably, but I most likely wasn't listening," she said offhandedly. "Now would you mind telling me why this thing is so damn heavy? I thought puppets were lightweight."

"Puppets are crafted to many varying specifications, that includes varying weights for numerous purposes," Chiyo explained. "As for your arm, it contains weights to further aid in muscle rehabilitation, as most prosthetics of that kind do. After going so long without anything attached, nor a purpose, the muscles in your upper arm have likely weakened, if only slightly. You will need to maintain a heavier weight in your prosthetic for a little while during the early stages to help muscle growth before you can get it readjusted for the sake of balance."

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Fantastic," she drawled, getting back to her feet. "So how does this thing work? How does it even move?"

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about the art of puppetry would you?" Chiyo asked.

"No."

The old woman sighed deeply. "This is going to be a very long couple of weeks," she grumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Chiyo gave a small smirk that sent a chill down the girl's spine. "Follow me. We need to take a trip to the library."

Tayuya froze at the last word. "Oh fuck."

* * *

Temari stared expectantly at the jinchuuriki sitting across from her, receiving nothing in return in regards to a response. It had been some time since Naruto and Tayuya had returned, and news of what had transpired in Konoha had spread like wildfire. Suna was rather removed from the other shinobi villages, so it was easy to assume that the rest of the world not only new of what happened, but had also made up their minds on how to respond to Naruto's existence. Temari could only assume that what was to follow would be the world's greatest ninja hunt. The only real question was how Naruto intended on responding to that particular hunt.

"How much time do we have?" Naruto asked calmly.

"Until you're forced out of the village, or until the world starts hunting you two down like animals?" the blonde asked bluntly, earning a shrug from him. "Well, I'd say you have at least a few days. I can buy you that much time. But you don't have too much time either way."

Naruto nodded in understanding as he hummed thoughtfully. "That sounds about right. But I'm more concerned about Tayuya's training," he said. "From what I understand of puppetry, it's doubtful she will be able to learn how to use her arm properly in time, even with someone of Chiyo's renown teaching her. Her stubbornness also won't be helping the situation."

"Yes, your friend sure does have an attitude problem," Temari remarked. "I personally don't see what your interest in her is."

"She has her good qualities… locked away somewhere… I think," Naruto said unsurely.

Temari sighed. "Look, I don't really care what you two are planning on doing once you leave here, but before you get to go anywhere, you are going to conclude your business with the Ichibi. After all that has happened, it would be beneficial for such a dangerous loose end to be tied up."

"Agreed," he said. "But you aren't going to like my thoughts on the subject."

"I'll hear them out regardless."

Naruto smirked. "You."

The girl froze. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Naruto repeated. "I had given a few other options a good amount of thought, even considered using Tayuya for it for a moment, but in the end, the best person for the job would be you."

"But I'm not compatible. If I were, my father would have used me in the first place," she argued.

"You weren't strong enough as an unborn child to bear the stress of the sealing, and the pathetic Fūinjutsu your father had at his disposal was less than adequate for the task at hand, but thankfully we don't have any of those problems anymore," Naruto explained. "While it will be a very unpleasant experience, your chakra network is still young enough to remould itself accordingly with the Bijuu's chakra, and I am skilled enough to ensure that nothing goes wrong with the process. Of course, this would require me to remain in the village for some time so as to ensure that everything goes smoothly. I don't need another Kage's blood on my hands lest I want the whole world demanding my head."

Temari frowned. "And just why am I the best person? Are you forgetting what that thing has done to this village? To my family? How could you expect me to go along with such a stupid request?"

Naruto gave a sad smile. "Do it for us," he said simply. "Show the villagers that they were wrong all along and help to create a better future for those that bear the burden after you. Do it so that the rest of us can hold onto the hope that someday we won't be seen as just weapons or monsters. More importantly, do it to mend the image of your brother."

Her frown didn't go away, but it was obvious that the displeasure behind it had diluted significantly, replaced by a begrudging acceptance of what had just been said. "I'm still not happy… just to be clear. However, you do have a point," she said with a heavy sigh, massaging her temples softly as she continued to go over things in her head. "I'll need time to plan it all, and… to say my final farewell," she added quietly.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Take all the time you need," he said, standing and giving a slight bow. "Saying goodbye to someone you care about is always a difficult process… especially when you know they are all but gone despite being so close."

Temari looked at him with a defeated expression, knowing full well the trust she was putting in him to let her façade fall in his presence. "You have no idea," she muttered pitifully.

Naruto held his tongue. It was not his place to impede on the girl's grieving any more than he already had by starting a competition of who had gone through the most tragedy. As it were, she was more than a little deserving of at least a short time of weakness considering all that had happened. It was amazing that Temari had even managed to cope with it all without breaking down sooner. He just hoped that there was enough time between chaotic incidents for everyone to have a well-deserved break.

It wasn't until he got outside that he felt the exhaustion from the past few days sinking in. With a quick spin on his heels, he turned to the opposite direction of the hotel he and Tayuya had been put in for the time being and began walking away. If he had any hope of a decent rest, it was going to be in a place where it would take some time for Tayuya to find him. He froze however, as a cold chill went down his spine, immediately causing him to change his direction again as he headed towards the village gates.

Outside of the village walls was clearly the safer option for today.

* * *

Tayuya groaned pitifully as she trekked her way back towards the hotel room. The sun had long since gone down, which she supposed was a blessing since she didn't have to put up with the heat and blinding light, but that didn't take away from the pain or the exhaustion she was feeling. Today especially had taken its toll on her patience since she had spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to hunt down Naruto the night before. It was just a shame that she was too tired to give him the ass kicking he deserved.

Despite that, the redhead could gladly say that she would drop her desire to kill the jinchuuriki in order to kill the old hag Chiyo. She could forgive Naruto for cutting her arm off, but she would be damned if she forgave Chiyo for _literally_ using her as a puppet for her own amusement earlier. Sadly, remembering that only brought back the memory of her own failure at the ridiculous art of puppetry, along with the aching pain accompanying the heaviness of the prosthetic that hung limply at her side.

While she was capable of creating chakra strings, much to Chiyo's amazement, she wasn't quite skilled enough to control them, let alone control an arm with them. Add to that the fact that she could only create three of them at one time and you had the perfect recipe for puppetry skills that barely rivalled that of a fresh academy graduate… at least that's how Chiyo described it. Needless to say, there was a lot of unnecessary teasing at her expense, and an annoying amount of comparisons to someone named Sasori, who was apparently better than she could ever hope to be by the age of twelve.

She pushed the thoughts to back of her mind, dreading the following day when even more would be added to the growing stockpile of anger inducing memories. Finally making it back to the hotel room, she let herself in, not at all surprised at the unlocked state of the door. Everyone in the village was well aware of who was staying in the room, and no one dared to try anything against Naruto after the show he put on with pummelling the Ichibi. Still, it did make for a lot of unwanted guests showing up wanting to ask questions or simply to thank him for "killing the demon". Thankfully, for Naruto, Tayuya wasn't quite mean enough, or stupid enough, to congratulate him on practically killing one of the few people that he could ever truly relate with.

Kicking off her shoes tiredly, she stumbled her way to the kitchen only to pause awkwardly as she saw Temari sitting at the dining table with a less than impressed expression on her face. Judging by the empty cup in front of her, which she safely assumed had once contained coffee, Tayuya hazarded the guess that the young Kage had been waiting a while. Now it was just a matter of why she was here, and why Naruto hadn't already dealt with the guest.

"Has he run off again?" she drawled.

Temari shook her head. "Unfortunately no," she answered. "That would be easier to explain. But he is actually in the bedroom meditating."

Tayuya gave her a stupid look. "He meditates?" she mouthed in shock.

"Apparently."

"And you've been waiting here the whole time for him to finish?"

"No," Temari said. "I was actually waiting here for you."

The redhead narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Whatever that stupid bag of bones told you, it wasn't me."

The blonde chuckled. "You haven't been accused of anything, don't worry," she said. "However, Chiyo's opinion of you is very obviously not as nice as anyone would like. She had more than enough to complain about before you came along and made her life difficult. Which I suppose is the main reason why I'm here."

"She's ditching me, right?" she asked. "I'm too much for her to deal with or something like that?"

"As surprising as it might be, even for those of us that have known her for longer than you, she is more determined to train you… to an extent anyway," Temari said amusedly. "She has stated quite clearly that you will never possess the necessary chakra control to properly utilise your prosthetic though."

"Hey, I'm doing pretty well so far," Tayuya argued.

Temari shrugged. "I believe you, but another option has been presented to us," she said, placing a moderate sized sealing scroll on the table. "Chiyo's grandson, Sasori, is without a doubt the most proficient puppet user to ever come from Suna. After some of his methods were discovered to be less than acceptable, he went rogue, and what techniques he left behind were sealed away, classified, and given to Chiyo for safekeeping. This here is one of those techniques."

Tayuya got even more suspicious. "And why exactly are you telling me this?"

"Because Chiyo has asked me if I would allow you access to it, for the purpose of shortcutting your training," Temari answered. "For whatever reason, this technique is almost solely related to prosthetics, making it more than helpful for your situation."

"Okay, but what's the catch?"

"You would need to swear never to reveal this technique to anyone else other than Naruto, who has already been let in on this information. Doing so would be punishable by death and the destruction of your corpse so as to maintain the secrecy of this technique."

Tayuya pursed her lips unsurely. "I'm not going to like how this technique works, am I?

"It will require another operation to allow for the needed modifications and implantation of a new device, which I can assure you will be far more painful than the previous one," the blonde stated honestly. "After that, it is merely a matter of teaching you how to use the device."

The redhead grunted irritably and sat down across from the blonde. She sluggishly unstrapped the prosthetic from her upper arm and disconnected it from the pole secured to the bone before placing is on the table. "Alright then. I'm game. But I will complain to the upmost extent of my abilities afterwards. I've put up with a lot of pain already, so I think I'm entitled to a bit of whinging."

Temari smiled. "I don't care what you do. Chiyo will be assisting in the operation and she is the only one who has to put up with you afterwards. As far as I see it, she can deal with that mess all on her own."

"And here I thought you and I would never get along in any way," Tayuya said offhandedly, taking a deep breath and leaning back into her chair. "So how long has he been in there?"

"A while," the blonde admitted, glancing towards the door awkwardly before turning back to Tayuya questioningly. "During the time you've been with him, have you noticed anything to do with his… condition… that could be considered…"

"…Unnatural?" Tayuya interrupted.

"…Dangerous," Temari finished.

Tayuya frowned. "Nice save there, blondie," she muttered. "But before I answer anything, I want to know why you're probing? Trying to get some dirt on him, or are you _interested_?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Temari droned.

"Okay, interested it is then," the redhead concluded cheerfully. "Oh this is going to be great. I can't wait to see how he reacts."

Temari quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Shouldn't you be, I don't know, jealous? Protective? Threatened in some way even?" she asked.

Tayuya paled. "What?"

"Are you and Naruto not involved in some way?" Temari asked. "It would explain a lot of things. Namely, how someone, who for the most part was thought to be completely unimportant to anyone aside from Orochimaru, suddenly becomes the sole interest of someone who has since gone on to perform some of the most outrages acts of the past month in the name of your safety. I would be surprised if something wasn't going on between you."

The redheads eyes widened as her skin began to border the line between ghostly white and completely transparent. "This could be soooo bad."

"So you two are a thing?" the blonde asked unsurely, trying to make sense of the girl's reaction.

"Absolutely fucking not!" Tayuya said in horror. "That was never a part of our arrangement!"

Temari groaned. "I'm confused."

"He owns me," Tayuya blurted out frustratedly. "That is it! He bought me, and now I belong to him. That is as far as it goes. And with all the stupid crap he's been doing recently, I want it to stay that way. I mean, I've already been kidnapped, and that was without people thinking we were together. Now… well, now I'm completely fucked. Everyone after his stupid fat head will be after mine too if they get the idea in their head that I'm involved with him in that kind of way."

"I already regret saying anything."

Tayuya drummed her fingers against the table. "What should I do about this?"

The blonde stood up hastily. "That is for you to figure out," she said, making her way to the door quickly. "Alone."

Tayuya watched the door close before pinching her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I could just kill him."

"After what I just heard, I would appreciate it if you tried," Naruto said suddenly from the chair Temari had been sitting in. "Pummelling you into the ground might help me forget it, depending on how many seconds it takes."

"You heard the whole thing didn't you?" she drawled.

Naruto ignored her question. "Any progression today?"

The girl snarled. "You know damn well that I didn't accomplish jack shit."

"What a shame," he sighed. "And here I thought your language was improving."

"My language will improve when you stop being a dick."

"In that case, I suppose I had better get used to it," he said in amusement. "Not exactly a difficult thing for someone in my line of work."

Tayuya glowered at him. "What exactly is the plan here?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Naruto look at her questioningly. "Plan for what?"

"I'm not stupid, you know. Suna is only a temporary stop for you, and by extension, me. And so, I think it stands to reason that I be let in on where we're going next and what you intend to do there," she said.

"I thought it was very obvious by now that plans aren't my forte," he said. "But, if it would stop you from complaining so much when things go south, then I am more than happy to make plans."

"Good. Then you can start right now by planning where we are going after this."

"Making a plan for where you're going isn't always the best thing you know. It's much more practical to plan for what you are after. That way, no matter where you might go or end up, you still have a chance of succeeding in your goal," Naruto explained casually. "After all, there are often more than one of whatever most people are looking for."

The girl narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Fine then, smartass. _What_ are we looking for?"

Naruto tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the table. "I never put much thought into it. My life until recently hasn't warranted me truly _needing_ anything. I usually just grab what I want as the situation requires."

"Half dead teenage girls from the middle of the forest…" Tayuya muttered. "For example."

"A happy coincidence, I can assure you," he insisted. "But back to our original point. I agree that it would be wise to at least have an idea as to where we will be heading and what we will be doing after our business here ends, but it need a logical reason. I won't allow for a vacation trip to a spa hotel just because you feel like one."

"Well I don't necessarily feel like following your deranged ass around on some fucked up personal quest to see how many people in the world you can piss off," she countered.

Naruto pouted childishly. "It's not like I'm trying to piss everyone off. And don't think you're completely innocent in all of this. Half of the stupid things I've been forced to do in the past month have been to keep you alive."

Tayuya waved her dismissively. "Technicalities."

"Anyway… you've now made your point. And I get the feeling that you have somewhere in mind already, so please just let me know where it is you want to go and why," Naruto said. "It seems fair for you to have some say in what we do considering all I've dragged you through so far."

"You say that as if you're fully expecting to drag me through more shit."

Naruto gave her a blank stare.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't try to be reassuring. And if you are telling the truth about my say meaning anything, then I vote Kirigakure," she said.

Naruto went emotionless. "And what could possibly make you think that village is a good idea? And trust me; you will need to give me a damn convincing reason to go along with this idea."

"Orochimaru isn't there," she said simply. "He has a base or two in the region, but he never actively does anything near Kiri. I don't know why, but right now, I don't care. All I care about is never having to deal with him. In a perfect world, that would mean never again, but I'll settle for just a while."

"That could be… complicated," Naruto mumbled. "The land of iron is just as safe a place if being out of Orochimaru's reach is all you are after."

"Yeah, but it's cold and miserable up there," she argued. "It's miserable in Kiri too, but at least I don't have to deal with snow and stupid nosey samurai. What with the civil war still going on, I imagine that it would be easier to stay hidden for a longer period of time."

Naruto sighed deeply. "Have you even stopped to think about why Orochimaru doesn't do anything in Kiri?" he asked.

"Not really," she admitted. "But I always assumed it was because there was nothing down there that he was interested in."

He shook his head. "Orochimaru can find something of interest anywhere. It's one of his gifts. And as such, it makes sense that it would take something rather phenomenal to keep him from such a large area of potential. Kiri was, and to an extent still is the home of some of the most powerful Kekkei Genkai the shinobi world has ever seen. What do you think could do that?"

"Does it matter? So long as it isn't Orochimaru."

Naruto hummed. "Well, it certainly isn't Orochimaru we would need to be worried about there. Even with the civil war in play, we'd still need to be careful. It's unlikely that either side would be welcoming to anyone stupid enough to walk into a death trap like that."

Tayuya pouted slightly. "So that's a no then?"

"Not necessarily," Naruto replied calmly. "Just… leave it with me for a little bit. You still have a few days left before you can even start using your arm for the bare basics, which should give me enough time to weigh the options we have against each other. And it'll give the both of us some time for relaxation before heading off into what I can only imagine is a now completely hostile world."

"You have no one to blame but yourself for that," she said. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go and make use of one of the only luxuries in this village that wasn't destroyed by your grudge match with the Ichibi. Although it's kind of strange that the bath houses were so untouched if you ask me."

"Not really. I mean, when you think about it, the Ichibi was doing the most destroying, and sand doesn't mix well with water. It makes sense that it would avoid any and all water."

Tayuya sighed in exasperation. "Not everything needs an explanation, smart ass," she said, walking out and closing the door behind her.

Naruto let out a quiet chuckle. Making his way from the kitchen to the lounge room styled area, he collapsed onto the deceivingly comfortable and spacious lounge. Tayuya had claimed the rights to the bedroom of the hotel room on the first night after a coin toss, which he had won of course, but when the decision came down to the comfort of an actual bed or the comfort of not getting kicked in the unmentionables, it was a no brainer.

Letting out a deep breath, he gently clutched his side while holding back a slight wince. While he was mostly healed from the past weeks ordeals, it was still a work in progress. Ribs that had been shattered were still in need of last minute touch ups, and a good number of internal organs were yet to be back to full working order. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra working almost aggressively to keep him alive, there were still limits. Regenerating something that the human body wasn't normally capable of healing took time and concentration, and also a lot of chakra to compensate for the lack of actual bodily materials.

Still, it was his fault for it taking as long as it was. He had neglected his meditation as of late, and had gotten less than an adequate amount of sleep over the past several weeks. It was only a matter of time before that kind of stupidity caught up with him, and it was only by sheer luck that he was given an opportunity to correct his mistakes before they became a true hindrance. A few good nights of rest, alongside some uninterrupted meditation sessions, and he was confident that he would be back at full strength by the weeks end.

After he was done sorting himself out, he would then be able to focus his attention onto other more important points of interest. The first of those would be aiding Tayuya in her recovery, for both of their sakes. After that… well, he wasn't completely sure. It was only a matter of time before he had to confront Jiraiya, along with the rest of Konoha, who by this point were likely to turn into nothing more than bloodthirsty animals at the mere mention of his name. It went without needing be said that the land of fire was a strictly out of bounds area for him, at least for as long as he could avoid it that was.

It was frustrating, but Naruto knew that Tayuya was right about Kiri. It was probably the safest place to go for the meantime save for the land of Iron, but it was unlikely that the samurai would willingly harbour a wanted criminal like him. The rest of the world would know of his location within days of crossing the border, making getting out of the country that much harder as time dragged on. Kiri offered a different risk in the form of two desperate factions of a civil war who were definitely willing to capture and make use of a jinchuuriki should the opportunity arise. Of course, that was still a favoured outcome when compared to being outed to the world. The shinobi of the mist did work on a sense of honour after all, and not one of them would ever pass up the bounty on his head to another village, so his location would be kept rather silent.

But Kiri was also a dangerous place for Naruto to be for the same reason Orochimaru kept his activities there so quiet. The Akatsuki had a hand in the mess going on down there, and from what he understood, whatever they were after, it was important to them in some way. There was always the chance that their attention was too devoted to the task at hand, but it was also probably that he would be found out by them. His last interaction with them may have been beneficial, but it was far too much to expect anything of the sorts to occur again. The next run in with them would end badly, he knew that much.

He scratched at his stomach idly as his thoughts drifted to something a bit closer to home, or more specifically, closer to his ancestors home. Uzushiogakure was, for a lack of better description, a wasteland. After its destruction, it had been pillaged to the highest extent possible before being buried in history and forgotten by most of the world. No one ever went there, and no one would think anyone was stupid enough to use it as a hideout, or anything resembling the sort. The entire village was rumoured to be a death trap, with some reports even suggesting that the Uzumaki had set up actual traps in their final moments.

Uzushio was also positioned between Konoha and Kiri. Naruto hoped it was enough to keep Tayuya's paranoia at bay, lest he be forced to actually follow through with her plan of going to Kiri itself. The last thing he wanted was to wind up fighting in a war. If the tales of the current Mizukage were anything to go by, then it would only end badly. It was only a shame that Yagura wasn't a less bloodthirsty individual. Naruto would have liked to converse with one of the few ever known to gain full control over their respective tailed beast.

With a final deep breath, Naruto closed his eyes and waited patiently for sleep to consume him. It was pointless wasting his thoughts on issues that could be postponed until tomorrow… or whenever he finally decided to get back to them. Procrastination was, as it were, one skill that the jinchuuriki reserved for only the most important of trivial matters.

Sadly, he would later learn that Tayuya was not as patient as he could be.

* * *

Temari had gone through a lot in her reasonably short life, and to her credit, such hardships had helped to mould her into the mature and levelheaded kunoichi she was now. However, she was still young and still susceptible to "unprofessional moments" as Baki had worded it. Her current situation was one such moment where the blonde was actually happy to let her 'immaturity' take over, as viewing the scene before her in a professional manner would only deprive her of the amusement and entertainment that she was now enjoying.

Having dealt with her required negotiations involving Tayuya the night before, and with Naruto having been busy during said time, Temari had opted to return to further discuss the following days with the jinchuuriki. She wasn't very shocked to find the door to the hotel room wide open, nor to find it absent of the redhead, but she was intrigued to find the bedroom empty. As far as she had known, Naruto was yet to leave the building since yesterday. Luckily, it wasn't very long before she ventured to the lounge room, to find a still sleeping Naruto laying on the lounge in naught but his boxers.

While not entirely proud of her actions, Temari did take some time to admire the man before her, subconsciously burning the image into her memory. However, she wasn't without some level of self-control, as she made sure to make a basic medical observation alongside her personal admiration for his physique. While definitely not a medic, Temari had looked into the art at one point in her academy years. As such, she did do some minor study to get a taste of the art, so basic diagnoses were something well within her capabilities.

Knowing full well that she was lying to herself for the sake of ogling the half-naked teen in front of her was also a skill she had, not that it was going to stop her.

Her enjoyment was regrettably cut short as she quickly found herself noticing things that actually began to concern her. Minor, if not almost non-existant lines on his skin that wouldn't have been visible at all had he not been so still. Temari easily surmised that they were the remnants of the scars he had obtained over the years, healed to an extreme degree that only a jinchuuriki could accomplish without the immediate aid of a medic. The scars weren't really the point of concern though, but more the positioning of them, and the fact that they were there at all.

It was relatively common knowledge for anyone who looked into the jinchuuriki of past generations that anyone who contained a Bijuu was capable of healing at a much higher rate than normal humans. As such, it was rare for them to scar from any wound that wasn't especially significant or otherwise aided with a toxin or technique that counteracted their Bijuu's chakra. The fact that Naruto had so many scars, no matter how faded they may have been, was something worth noting. It also didn't help that each one appeared to have been from either a piercing or slicing weapon aimed at specifically at his vital organs. If the scars were truly a reflection of the severity of the wounds he sustained in such vulnerable areas, then it was very obvious that Naruto was a lot harder to kill than Temari had first assumed.

"You enjoying yourself?"

The blonde was startled by the sudden question, but her training ensured that her body didn't betray that to the asker. That aside, Temari was regretfully forced to turn her attention to the now very much awake Naruto, amusement blatantly glimmering in his eyes as he seemingly waited patiently for her to answer his question.

"As a matter of fact, I am," she said, offering him a smug smirk as he frowned in disappointment. "Thanks for the view," she added with a playful wink.

Naruto quickly mirrored her smirk as he gave her an obvious up and down glance. "Any chance of you returning the gesture?" he asked.

"Nope."

He sighed. "Oh well, it was worth a try," he mumbled, stumbling to his feet and making a point to take his time stretching in front of the blonde. "So then, I suppose you want to have that talk with me that you missed out on last night?"

Temari ignored his actions and nodded. "That was my plan," she admitted. "But if you have something more important to do, then we can always postpone it again."

"Well, I wasn't planning to do much more than sleep today, so we might as well get it over with," Naruto said before glancing down at his state of undress and then back up to Temari curiously. "Would you prefer I stay like this, or should I get some clothes on?" he asked teasingly.

"Dressed, immediately," she said sternly.

"You sure?"

"I will stab you again."

Naruto winced at that particular memory. It may have only been a shadow clone, but the young Kazekage had somehow managed to make the one stab stick in his memory for what he could see being a very long time. It was actually kind of impressive that she could inflict so much pain in the instant a clone had to comprehend it before dispelling. Impressive, but also terrifying. God forbid she ever felt like doing to the real him. Choosing not to risk any further teasing, Naruto walked past the girl quickly towards the small pile of clothes that had mysteriously gathered themselves together while he was asleep. He made a mental note to be cautious of any potential meddling courtesy of Tayuya.

Temari smiled as she watched him hastily but warily put on his pants, as if he expected them to spontaneously combust at any moment. "Would you mind explaining why you're sleeping on the lounge?" she asked. "The room does come with a bed for a reason."

Naruto shrugged. "Tayuya claimed the bedroom as hers almost as soon as we got here and I didn't really feel like putting up much of a fight for it. I've put her through enough already and she deserves a bit of comfort for the moment," he explained.

"Hmm, and here I thought you were the one that owned her, not the other way around," the blonde said slyly.

"I don't care for owning a person, especially not one that I 'purchased'," he said. "Tayuya can do whatever she wants without having to worry about my thoughts on it. I simply wish to make sure that she can watch out for herself before I let her run off on her own. Now that everyone knows what I did for her sake, there are going to be a lot of people out for whatever information she might have on me."

"Still doesn't mean you two can't just share a bed. I mean this is just childish."

Naruto glared at her. "Don't say that so loud! She might hear you, and then I'll be a dead man."

Temari scoffed. "The guy that just went toe to toe with an unleashed Bijuu is scared of a little girl… that is really sad."

Naruto waved her off. "Call it what you like, but I'm allowed to possess a respectful amount of fear for any female that crosses my path."

"That aside, I came here to make the final preparations for the transference of the Ichibi," she said quickly.

The jinchuuriki finished getting dressed and turned to her with a calm yet serious expression. "So you've decided? That didn't take very long. Are you sure about your answer?"

"Suna needs the Ichibi. No matter how much we wish to be rid of it, it is a prominent part of our village's history and the only real powerhouse we have left. But you were right about striving to change people views on jinchuuriki, for the betterment of future generation," she said.

"Good to hear," Naruto said, not at all oblivious to the difficulty Temari was having with the subject, no matter how well she was hiding it. She was, after all, arranging for her own brother to be killed in a manner of speaking. "So I take it that you have prepared an area for me to work?"

The blonde nodded. "We could easily clear out the Kazekage tower for our own use. Outfit one of the lower rooms for the procedure," she suggested. "However, it will have to be after tomorrow. While it was kept to a minimum, there were still casualties during the Ichibi's rampage. The village is going to hold a collective funeral tomorrow. I will be expected to be there."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "Where would this funeral be taking place?" he asked.

"Outside the village walls. The people of Suna have never buried anyone within the walls out of superstition. Something about the village eventually having more dead in it than living," she explained offhandedly.

"If you could arrange for your brother to be taken to one of the lower rooms early tomorrow morning, while also giving me the location, I could go about the first stage of the procedure in peace with no risk of anyone finding out about what is being done," he explained. "After that, it would be wise for us to find a secluded body of water for the second stage. Either that, or have one of the bath houses sectioned off from the public for a short while."

Temari narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't sound very Bijuu related," she said warningly.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "You're right, it doesn't sound related. But if you'd be so kind as to humour my suspicions, I'm doing my best to have this planned and pulled off with the absolute minimal of damage to both yourself and your village."

"Fine. I'll see that everything is in order before my departure tomorrow morning. One of my ANBU will deliver the appropriate information to you later," she said, offering the slightest of bows before turning and walking hastily to the door.

"Wait."

The blonde froze in place at his tone. For the entire time that she had known Naruto, Temari had always been wary of him, as could only be expected. But it wasn't until now that she felt her wariness was truly justified. A single word, especially when said by someone who was by all means a stranger, shouldn't have had such an effect. And yet, here she was, seemingly stuck in time as she waited patiently and attentively for his next words, just as she had often reacted to her father when he spoke sternly to her when she was younger. And while it did sicken her to know that she had found such a disturbing similarity between the man that she loathed and the young man that she had started to grow somewhat fond of, she refused to even try and abolish the thought from her mind.

Turning to face him slowly, she was met with something that surprised her. The calm and calculative coldness that was practically an eternal fixture in the background of his otherwise innocent blue eyes had disappeared, replaced with what Temari could only discern to be actual concern. The fact that he was concerned however, proved to be more terrifying than he seemed to comprehend.

"You need to be sure, Temari," he said, his cold tone opposing the concern she could see. "This isn't something to be rushed. If you need more time, take it. Because believe me, if this goes badly… it will be no better than throwing away your rights as a human and being forced to witness the worst sides of people you might not even have known existed. So please, for both our sakes, be certain that your decision is the one you're committed to."

Temari offered a meek nod, surprisingly managing to avoid being angry with herself for daring to be meek at all. Closing the door behind her, she left without any further words. As she walked through the village, she was met with the various smiles and pleasant greetings from the people of the village… and it sickened her to know that Gaara had not once been met with even a fraction of the kindness that she was given at every turn.

Her mind churned away at itself as she thought about what Naruto had said, about seeing the worst sides of people. It was a nice enough gesture to try and warn her, but it was also pointless. She had already seen the worst side of almost everyone in the village, the only difference being that their ire, their disgust and hatred, had not been directed at her. In a way, it was comforting to know just how cruel people could be, especially while at such a young age. It had helped her ignore many things in the past, such as her own brother's bloodlust, and would undoubtedly go on to help her ignore much more, most likely in the form of however the village reacted to her becoming a jinchuuriki.

All that was left for her now was deciding how to go about things once the transmission was all over. Would it be wise to hide her new condition from the people for a time, or would it be better to come clean from the start? Was it worth it to try and change the village's perspective on jinchuuriki through peaceful methods, or perhaps it would work out more efficient if done under the command of an iron fist. She knew that questioning the means to an end so early on was not the best of signs of a good plan, but she couldn't help but wonder what she was willing to do for the sake of an idea that many would label as impossible to realise.

Knowing that her decisions over the next couple of days could very well make or break the future of an entire village was humbling beyond anything else she could imagine. Even having been in the presence of the Sandaime Hokage, a man almost considered a god, didn't compare to having so much resting on her shoulders. But that also made it the more meaningful. Naruto could have easily just taken the Bijuu for his own purposes, sealing it into someone that he could control, to aid him in reaching his own goals at his side. Instead, he had given her the choice, the responsibility of dealing with the Bijuu in what way she saw fit.

Naruto had given her his trust on the matter, and Temari knew that the trust of a rogue shinobi was saying a lot, especially one wanted by practically half the world. It would take no more than a handful of words on her part to bring the wrath of numerous villages down upon the jinchuuriki's head, and so long as she kept up the ruse of wanting his help with the Ichibi, then she could keep him in place until the other villages dealt with him. His simply being in the village for so long was a display of trust that made no sense, let alone be deserved in any way.

It was just Naruto's luck that Temari was the type of person to make sure that such trust would not go unnoticed nor unrewarded. And it was with that particular mind frame that the blonde set off with a thoughtful expression, pondering as to just how she could make up for all that Naruto had dealt with while in Suna. It was just too bad that she didn't consider how hard such a task would turn out to be, as the forethought may have saved her from the headache.

* * *

Tayuya trudged through the sand irritably, the frown on her face slowly becoming a permanent fixture due to the exceedingly long time it had been there. Of course, she wouldn't care too much if the expression stuck as it would just make more people less likely to want anything to do with her. But that didn't mean that she wanted it to come about in this particular way, what with being forced to follow Temari to the mass funeral like some lost dog. What was worse was that the funeral was, as anyone could guess, out in the desert, and burning to death under the sun wasn't how Tayuya saw herself dying.

"Do you mind reminding me why the hell _I'm_ here?" she asked through gritted teeth, internally screaming at the fact that she, according to Temari, would be better off not talking around anyone other than herself.

Temari sighed in frustration. "If I knew, then I would tell you," she answered. "Now please, do us both a favour and be quiet. We're almost there and I can't afford to have the people see me talking to you when my focus should be on the funeral."

"Ugh, and I thought you were annoying before. Now I'm starting to question if you've ever had any fun in your life," the redhead mumbled.

"People are dead, and yet you have the gall to talk about fun!" Temari hissed quietly.

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Big deal. It happens all the time, it's part of our profession, we'll all have to face it one day. Pick of those and repeat it in your head until you stop feeling. It's what the smart shinobi do," she said in a bored tone.

"Is that what you did?" the blonde asked.

"No one's going to care if I die, and no one cared when I nearly did, so why put the energy into caring about the deaths of people I don't even know the names of. In fact, even the ones that I do know mean fuck all in the bigger picture of things, so why bother with them either," she said. "So no, I didn't have to chant myself into numbness. I was already blessed with the ability to not give a shit about people long before I needed to resort to such stupid measures."

Temari stopped walking, grabbing Tayuya by her arm to stop her as well. "If you're so sure no one cares about your life, then what do you think Naruto has been doing all this time?"

Tayuya frowned. "He doesn't care… at least not about my life," she said. "I'd call it preservation based on what he told me."

"And what was it that he said that could make you think that?"

"My body… that's what he's keeping alive for. Not me, just my body. And no, it's not for some secret perverted reasons, although that would be soooo much easier to explain," Tayuya explained vaguely. "After everything that Orochimaru did to me, I'm practically the closest thing to an Uzumaki except for Naruto himself. One of the only people alive who could potentially continue the clan naturally."

Temari gawked at the redhead. "You mean… he wants to… you know… with you… and make you have… seriously?" she sputtered.

Tayuya almost allowed the girl's stupefied expression to make her laugh, but thankfully, she made it come out as a growl instead. "No, he doesn't intend on doing that either… apparently," she said unsurely. "He said he just wants to make sure that I live long enough to have the option to have kids and continue the clan in some way, or some such bullshit. I was too busy watching the Hokage tower burn down to memorise what he said."

The blonde's expression quickly turned to one of curiously. "Why are you telling me this?"

Tayuya blinked owlishly. "Uh, because I'm bored and I don't really have much else to talk about. Unless you want to hear about all the ways Orochimaru experimented on me."

Ignoring the last comment, Temari started to walk again, gesturing for Tayuya to follow closely so as to continue the conversation. As much as she wanted to ignore the redhead, the topic was just too interesting, and there was still a small amount of time before the funeral started.

"So, in short, what you're trying to tell me is that that is all it took, him simply saying that he only sees value in your genetic similarities to his own clan, for you to completely disregard the possibility of him caring about your life?" she asked in an almost disappointed tone.

"Well it's not exactly something you just lie about," Tayuya retorted.

Temari nodded. "True. But he could always be withholding the whole truth."

Tayuya narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why am I getting the feeling that I'm not going to like what you're about to say?"

"Think about it. If you were to find someone who could continue your clan, then the first thing you would do is find a safe place for them to live. In regards to a shinobi clan, a shinobi village would be the perfect choice, so long as you could ensure that the clan would be accepted and that the individual in question wouldn't simply be used by the village to attain greater power," she explained. "Obviously, that wouldn't be easy, but with some of the favours Naruto is rumoured to have done for some of the smaller villages in the elemental nations, it isn't absurd to think that he would have a connection or two capable of making such an outcome possible. And yet, here you are. Still by his side, in possibly one of the most dangerous situations imaginable, and he doesn't seem at all determined to change that."

"Your point?"

Temari shook her head disappointedly. "He might not have told us exactly why we are stuck together for the day, but it doesn't take a genius to guess the reason," she said. "He is using this opportunity to safely remove the Ichibi from my brothers body, and aside from you and the ANBU, everyone else would have been outside the village walls. It only makes sense that he forced you to follow me to keep you out of the village, to keep you safe."

"Or maybe, and more likely, it was to keep me out of the way and make sure I couldn't interfere," Tayuya countered.

"View it however you like, but from where I'm sitting, it sure resembles a level of concern beyond what you assume," Temari said. "Now, if you don't mind, we've talked long enough. If Naruto is still alive once we get back, I would suggest that you at least try to talk to him about it."

Tayuya's head whipped around to stare angrily at the blonde. "What the hell do you mean 'if he's still alive'?"

Temari smirked victoriously. "Oh, so you _do_ care about him," she teased, earning a sharp glare from the girl. "Calm down. I didn't mean it that seriously. But he is dealing with one of the nine Bijuu, and jinchuuriki or not, it still has a chance of killing him. But that shouldn't worry you. After all, what does his life really mean to you?"

Tayuya was quick to avert her gaze down to the ground, an intensely thoughtful expression on her face. Temari however, couldn't help but smirk at her accomplishment. Not only had she given the girl something to think about for the day, and hopefully keep her quiet in the process, but she had also quite possibly sparked what could very well become a highly amusing relationship should things go as she guessed they would. It was a shame that she wasn't going to get to enjoy watching the outcome of her meddling once the two left Suna, but she was sure that a few people would get some entertainment from it at some point.

As they finally reached the cemetery, Temari became emotionless. The reality of the day was finally catching up with her, and she couldn't help but feel anxious. Today was not just the day that the village mourned the recently deceased, at least not for the blonde. Today was the day that she farewelled whatever normality remained in her life, as once she returned to the village it would only be a matter of hours before she was to share her body with a monster.

What would happen after that was still a mystery, but that didn't matter to her. So much of her life had been a chain of events organised by those who saw her as useable for their own gain. While her father lived, most of what her life would entail could be calculated and easily guessed, if not outright anticipated with extreme accuracy. But now, she was officially without anything resembling the security of knowing what was to come, and it excited her.

To finally live the life of a true kunoichi. To not know how things would play out, but to be confident in knowing that she was now free to make the choices to come on her own.

And all it would take was to make one simple decision to change her life forever.

* * *

 **A/N:**

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the super late update. Things happened, Final Fantasy XV was finally released, and I got around to buying the Witcher 3. So in short, I have very little self control, and a stupid amount of devotion to video games. Now that that's over though, I'm back, I hope.

Anyway, this long overdue chapter is finally here, and sadly not as good as I had hoped. But it is an update, and I just wanted to ensure everyone that I have no intentions of giving up on this story in the near future. Sadly, other than that, I have nothing else to say. In a way, I suppose it's kinda ironic that this chapter is where I'm officially starting the concept of Naruto and Tayuya caring about one another and its literally the day before valentines day, at least it is down here in the burning hell hole that Australia has become of recent weeks. So yeah, irony, or something.

Anywho, please don't forget to leave a review.

Next chapter will hopefully not take so long to be posted, but stuff can happen between then and now, hence no promises.

Till next time guys.

Soul out!


	13. Turning Point

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Konoha had always been proud of its weather. Compared to the other major villages, it was a paradise free of any extreme weather phenomena, and that only added to the general appeal of the village as a whole. There were of course seasons, but there was rarely ever a severe enough change to make things unpleasant. Rain, for example, was common enough to maintain the lush vegetation around the area, but was nowhere near as much of a hassle as it was in Amegakure. Sadly, the past few days had been nothing but rain, and it only added to the misery of the people.

Shikamaru wasn't exactly happy, but he couldn't say he was miserable either. The rain didn't help of course, as it deprived him of his favourite past time, but it offered a different comfort unique to itself. He didn't care about getting wet, so spending the day laying under the rain was of no concern, and the lack of people willing to interrupt him was more than worth it even if it bothered him. After Tsunade's death, it wasn't surprising that peace and quiet was a highly sought after luxury. The Nara himself had been subject to more questions than he would have preferred, hence his inclination to avoid people for the time being.

At the best of times, the process of grief was a challenge, not only for the person suffering, but also for those around them. As could be expected, the loss of the Hokage effected everyone, and in a village full of shinobi, that wasn't exactly a good thing. Those that had seen enough close friends perish were able to continue with little issue, but for the younger generations it was more difficult. It hadn't been long enough for the impact of the Sandaime Hokage's death to truly leave, and now, another Hokage had been murdered within the village walls one again.

Doubts were running through the minds of the masses, Shikamaru could understand that much. Shinobi doubting their own skill, their worth, belittling themselves internally at allowing such a brutal end to befall the one they had sworn to protect. With that doubt, however, came the fear. It was practically visible in the eyes of all that dared to gaze upon the destruction left in Naruto's wake. A kind of fear that was reserved for the monsters and gods of old legends, the fear reserved for the kinds of men that could walk into wars with a smile on their face and walk out disappointed. Konoha had been protected from such horrors since its creation, by the very monsters that would have overshadowed horror stories.

Konoha had always had a steady supply of disturbingly dangerous shinobi, the Hokage being the most notable of them. The civilians, and even a large portion of the shinobi populace within the village had been spared a great deal of fear thanks to the efforts of those individuals, who, while seen as monsters of war in the eyes of the villages around them, were praised as near gods by those they protected. Shikamaru wasn't alone in knowing this either, understanding the hypocrisy behind labelling others as evil or dangerous whilst boasting some of the most singularly destructive men and women in history.

It had been far too long since the village was met with an opponent that had the strength or the intellect to truly challenge it in any way that mattered. There had always been a successor to the role of village protector. Someone to act as a crutch and rid the people of fear. But now there was no one, and the wound left by the realisation of mortality had left them limping. If a crutch weren't found soon, then another would swoop in to finish the job, taking the glory of Konoha's destruction before anyone even realised what had happened.

The Nara sighed in annoyance. It was one thing to know that the village relied so heavily on the strength of so few, but to actually conclude that it was eventually going to be their downfall was frustrating. It gave a new meaning to the prospect of teamwork. As it was, the most common form of teamwork in Konoha was for the weaker members of a team to help set things up for the strong to finish it all off. It was basically a kind method of identifying the cannon fodder at this point.

"Have you thought of a plan yet?"

"What are you doing out in the rain, Ino? It'll mess up your hair and then I'll have to hear you whine about it," he muttered casually, opening one eye slightly to stare up at the blonde.

She looked like a mess, not that he was going to say anything. He knew better than to comment on a woman's appearance during a time of stress or sadness. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to pay attention to it. For Ino, her appearance was almost everything. A shallow trait for a person to have, but her intentions were pure. As a Yamanaka, she was all about getting to know people, and letting herself be known by others. Her obsessions with her outward appearance stemmed from the idea that no one would want to open up to an ugly person, hence she strove towards always looking her best to help people be open to her.

He thought it was cute, but also practical in a way.

With that in mind, seeing Ino walking around in the rain, her clothes soaked through, and her hair a matted mess, spoke volumes about how she was feeling. She had clearly been out in the weather for a while, which meant that she didn't simply choose to brave it with the sole purpose of finding Shikamaru. The rain made it difficult to tell, but it looked as though she had been crying, or perhaps she still was. It was a bad sign. If there was one thing the Nara knew about the girl, it was that she hated crying around her teammates, her friends. Allowing herself to look weak in front of people she knew was something she had always been afraid of.

"Please just say it," she sobbed pathetically. "Just tell me you have a plan. You always do, and they always work."

Shikamaru closed his eye. "I'm sorry, Ino. It's not that simple this time."

Ino looked down sadly, gently lowering herself to her knees in defeat. "You were right… about that girl," she said softly. "We never should have taken her. I should have listened to you. Maybe I could have stopped this from happening."

"Don't blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done," he assured her. "We were just following orders."

"You didn't see what I saw," the blonde said hauntingly. "Every time I went into her mind… the things she has locked away, what Orochimaru did to her… it was horrible."

"None of that would have been able to stop this from happening. Forget about it. You did all you could," he said.

Ino shook her head. "She let us take her," she said. "She knew what would happen, and she let us take her."

"She couldn't have known that Naruto would do what he did."

"She knew, Shikamaru," Ino insisted. "She had plans… so many plans, taking everything into consideration. I should have warned you, Jiraiya, someone at least. But I was so sure… sure we had her stuck, that none of her plans were possible… and yet…" she paused, clenching her fists angrily in a futile attempt to stop herself from crying any further. "It's all my fault."

Shikamaru sighed. Getting to his feet, he walked over and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Guilt is pointless now," he said. "What happened happened. No matter what we do, no matter whom we blame, it won't change the past. All we can do is learn from it. So don't let guilt weigh you down. We still have a long way to go, and you don't want to be left behind because your too slow, do you?"

Ino shook her head again, still staring down in shame. "No."

He reached down, took her hand, and helped her up to her feet. "Good," he said. "Now go home. I'll come around later and make sure you're alright."

The blonde looked at him curiously. "Where are you going?"

Shikamaru gazed towards the centre of the village, where the Hokage tower had once stood. "To talk to some people, and hopefully start making a plan," he answered. "From the looks of things, we're going to need one."

Ino didn't argue his point, nor did she stop him from walking off. Instead, she chose to take his advice and head home. She probably looked like a complete wreck right now and it was bad enough that Shikamaru had seen her in such a state. God forbid anyone else saw her like this.

It didn't take too long for Shikamaru to get to where he was headed, even in spite of his walking pace. The streets of the village weren't empty, but they were especially quiet, so it wasn't as if he had many things that could slow him down along his way. Still, that didn't mean he was going to race towards the cemetery. There was always the chance that what he was after wasn't there anyway, so there was no need to be potentially disappointed any faster than need be. Of course, upon arrival, his hunch was proven true as he spotted the kneeling form of Jiraiya in front of one of the tome stones.

"You haven't left that spot since you got it, have you?" the Nara questioned.

Jiraiya turned to stare emotionlessly at the boy. "Did the elders send you to get me?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "I'm suspended from duty, remember. Only the Hokage can undo that order, and right now we don't have one," he said.

"Then why are you here?"

"To talk to you."

"About what?"

The pineapple haired teen turned his attention to the tome stone. "I heard my father talking the other night. Apparently you refused the position of Hokage outright," he said. "The council is having a hard time trying to pick out suitable nominees for the title, and the elders are causing conflict in their own way."

"Your point?" the Sannin asked.

"Why'd you turn it down?"

Jiraiya scowled. "Look at me, kid. Do I really look like Kage material to you?" he asked rhetorically. "I disobeyed the last Hokage's direct orders, an act of treason that should have me being dealt swift and harsh punishment. Instead, after I brought about the events that lead to Tsunade's sacrifice, they try to hand me a title reserved for only the most honourable of shinobi. I couldn't accept that role even before everything I've done, so how could I tarnish it further by taking it now?"

"I wasn't saying you should have taken it. I was merely curious as to why you didn't," the Nara said coldly. "As far as I'm concerned, you would be a poor Hokage. You're past actions being more than enough to prove my point. But that doesn't matter. The role of Hokage will be filled, whether it needs to be or not. It's just a question of who it will be, and whether or not a rushed decision will be the best decision."

"And what exactly do you expect me to do about it?"

"Remove the position from play," Shikamaru said simply.

Jiraiya laughed. "And to think I had heard that you were one of the smarter ones of the next generation," he said. "Do you have any idea what the Hokage means to this village? Even if we could, why would we?"

"I thought of all people would understand, having been so close to Tsunade," Shikamaru said. "She said the title of Hokage was cursed, killing all who earned it or strived to attain it. In the end, even she was taken by it. And the people of this village have already moved on, just as they did with the Sandaime. A single day devoted to them before turning their attention to simply finding a replacement. Maybe it's time we didn't get one. All this time the village has relied on a single person for its safety, its strength, and now we don't know what to do without it. Perhaps it's time we learn to stand on our own again."

"If only it was that simple," the Sannin grumbled, still not sold on the idea.

Shikamaru glared at the man. "You owe this village a lot, Jiraiya," he said. "If it wasn't for you, many of the problems this village now faces wouldn't have come about."

Jiraiya glared daggers at the boy. "I'd be careful about what you say, kid."

"You failed to return to the village at the request of the Sandaime, forcing him to take drastic actions with Naruto, which lead to his leaving the village," he stated. "One could argue that things would be much different had he not left, had you been here like you should have been to take care of him. Tsunade might even be alive."

"You think I don't know that!" Jiraiya snapped, getting to his feet and glaring at the boy through the tears that had begun to fill his eyes. "You think I'm not ashamed of what I've done? I have failed everyone I ever cared about. Hiruzen, Minato, Tsunade, all of them put their faith in me, and look at where it got them. They're… all gone… and I'm still here."

Shikamaru grit his teeth. "You aren't the only one losing friends because of your own stupid mistakes," he said. "I practically sentenced my own best friend to death, all because I didn't think things through properly. So stop moping about yourself and do something about it. Maybe if you stop putting so much effort into the wrong things, then you can actually begin to help people."

Jiraiya chuckled softly, or at least he tried to. His failed attempt to hold back his crying made it sound too strained to be called a proper chuckle. "Look at what the world has come to," he said in mild amusement, obviously trying to force himself to see the light-hearted side of the situation. "A seasoned shinobi getting lectured by a genin. How humiliating." He stared up at Shikamaru and sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, kid, but I don't think I even know how to help people anymore."

"Then learn how to again," Shikamaru said sternly.

"I don't have a choice in this do I?"

"Not unless you want to continue to live knowing that you did nothing to try and redeem yourself or help save the village," the Nara answered coldly. "So hurry up and make a choice, because if you're not up for it then I'll plan around you."

The Sannin regained his composure and looked to the genin with a defeated expression. Never in his life had he expected himself to allow the likes of a genin to lecture him, boss him around, or even get away with blatantly insulting him in the way that the Nara had. He could accept it and live with it, but he never expected it. However, he could say for certain that relying on the same genin for a plan on how to hopefully keep an entire village from collapsing on itself was never something that he would have believed possible, even if the great toad sage had prophesised it. And yet, here he was.

"Where do we start then?" he asked.

Shikamaru frowned. "We start a war."

* * *

Temari stared wide eyed at Naruto, a furious reddening of her cheeks accompanying the absolutely gobsmacked expression on her face. Meanwhile, Naruto, who was absolutely the reason for the poor girl's shocked condition, offered no more than a calm and patient gaze as he awaited the blonde's response, of which he was sure would be loud and very entertaining. Still, he couldn't hold it against her. It wouldn't have mattered who he was dealing with, so long as this particular situation applied, and the individual was female; a responsive outburst was practically unavoidable. Hell, most men would likely become slightly aggressive if faced with the situation Temari was now forced to deal with.

"I have to be… naked?" she asked softly, almost hoping in some form that this was a joke.

"Nude, actually," Naruto corrected. "Although I suppose that both words would suit the matter at hand based on their similar definitions."

Temari took a deep breath and calmed herself. While it was definitely a shocking statement to be made out of the blue, the blonde couldn't simply lash out without having first heard out the reasoning behind it.

"Why?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Not going to scream at me?"

"No. Now explain before I lose my patience and end up screaming at you anyway," she said, crossing her arms irritably.

"Okay, well, to put it in simple terms, the seal is going to be big, and I'll need access to most of your body to write it all on," he explained casually. "However, there are other reasons, like the whole not wanting to ruin a perfectly good set of clothes."

Temari smirked. "And here I thought you just wanted to be a pervert."

Naruto shrugged. "I won't deny it outright," he muttered, grinning in amusement as Temari's smirk was quickly replaced with a scowl.

"A little lacking in the dramatic, don't you think?" she said. "Wouldn't it have been better to ask me at a point in time where I had no real choice in the matter?"

"Possibly, but I'm not a monster. And besides, I don't like drama. Better you be prepared for it instead of having it dropped on you as a surprise. And it will help if you are calm and relaxed during the sealing," he replied.

Temari nodded in acceptance of the answer, but her silence was more due to knowing that anything else she said would merely be a weak attempt to postpone the sealing. It was nerve-racking to know that she was going to become a jinchuuriki, and as the hours went by, the time getting closer and closer, she only felt herself grow more and more nervous. It was annoying actually, allowing herself to be beaten by something as pathetic as nerves, but now that it had started, it was near impossible to stop. What made it worse though, was that she knew that if she couldn't get control of herself soon, she'd have to resort to getting Naruto's help. With everything that she already owed him for, Temari wasn't sure if she wanted to owe him more over something so stupid.

She made sure to assure herself that it had nothing to do with potentially looking weak in front of Naruto.

While the blonde had her own special form of nervous breakdown, Naruto mulled over different things, or rather, a handful of very specific things. For one, Tayuya had maintained a rather unusual level of silence during the night after the funeral. He doubted it was due to sympathy or guilt, and he was fairly certain that he hadn't done anything to piss her off as of late, so for the meantime, it was a mystery that he couldn't be bothered to figure out. Other than that, there was a rather interesting addition to the populace of Suna, if his sensory abilities were to be trusted. Sadly, it was not a mystery as to who it was and Naruto knew that he would need to be especially cautious to ensure that no complications came about during the sealing. Although he was also preparing numerous countermeasures to make sure that the sealing was as guarded and as safe as possible, but there was only so much that could be done while his attention was focussed on a Bijuu.

Naruto was also aware of Temari's hesitance and nervousness over the situation, but he sadly had very little experience in consoling people. Most of the time, when someone was nervous around him, it was because he was close to killing them. Regrettably, killing Temari wasn't exactly an option anymore. But that didn't mean he couldn't at least try to help, even if it meant offering some rather useless advice.

"I hear drinking helps," he stated flippantly, actively ignoring Temari's horrified reaction to him knowing. "Being drunk wouldn't interfere with the sealing, so long as you don't go stupid."

Temari smirked. "Well then, if that's the case, would you like to join me for a drink?" she asked.

Naruto turned to look at her oddly. "Did you just ask me out on a date?"

"Not really, although I was originally going to ask you out for dinner once this sealing business was all over and done with," she replied. "Still might do that, but for now I'll settle with us going to get a drink together, unless you want to get dinner now, in which case we'll do both."

"Why?" Naruto asked simply.

"I owe you a lot as it is, so taking you out for a drink, and maybe dinner, is really more of a way to make a start at paying you back," Temari explained offhandedly. "Aside from that though, I'm hungry, need a drink to calm my nerves, and have a couple of questions to ask you anyway."

"You can ask me questions right now," he said.

Temari waved dismissively. "Just humour me."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Girls could be so annoyingly vague at times. One of the few reasons he usually avoided them. "Fine," he muttered. "Where and when?"

The blonde hummed thoughtfully. "Well, since you don't really know the village all that well, I'll just meet you at the hotel and we can go from there."

The jinchuuriki nodded in acceptance, making sure to keep quiet about the 'not knowing the village' comment she had made. It would do no one any good to know that he had sent numerous shadow clones around and mapped out everything, or that the village was actually very simple to make out from up in the air. By this point, he doubted he'd have much difficulty traversing Suna's streets even if he was blindfolded. But, for simplicities sake, and because he was a thoughtful person, he was going to pretend he was clueless. Temari needed to think she was useful in some way other than being a fleshy cage to lock a monster inside of, even if only as a mere tour guide.

"Sounds reasonable," he said. "What time should I expect you?"

"Around six, if that works for you."

"Uh-huh, that'll work fine," he said absentmindedly as he continued to go over the notes and seal diagrams he had written. It was important to be thorough in these situations.

Temari grinned evilly. "Cool. Then it's a date," she said quickly, not waiting for a response before walking to the door. "See you then," she added quickly before closing the door behind her.

Naruto, whose attention was still devoted almost entirely to his notes, paused to stare sideways at the door. "I thought she said she wasn't asking me on a date?" he asked himself, letting out a frustrated sigh immediately afterwards. "Oh well."

* * *

Kabuto tapped his pencil on the clipboard in his hand, glancing disappointingly at the monitor in front of him before making some rather unfortunate notes. His eyes ventured to the next monitor, the image displayed earning an intrigued rise of his brow before he added to his notes. Finishing his notes, he went to walk out of the room, only to stop and glare at another one of the monitors that littered the walls. The image was of an empty room, but the label on the bottom of the monitor was what frustrated the bespectacled young man.

 _Sasuke Uchiha's Room_

If he was being honest with himself, Kabuto knew that he had a tendency to show signs of jealousy in certain circumstances. Having spent so much of his life being used as a disposable tool, he had developed an unprofessional desire to be needed or wanted. For the most part, he was in control of those particular desires, even to the point of being completely analytical in his approach to what he wanted. He knew what kind of people he wanted to see value in his existence and he knew to what extent he wanted to be needed by said people.

Orochimaru was a powerful, intelligent, and extremely motivated shinobi. To be needed, wanted by someone who by all rights could easily forget he existed and continue life with absolutely no repercussions. That was what gave him a sense of fulfilment. Sadly, it was also the reason that he couldn't help but question Orochimaru's decisions in regards to the Uchiha. His skills in medical Ninjutsu were what the Sannin had been making the most of for years, and yet now, his master chose to ignore his advice.

It wasn't exactly unexpected. Orochimaru had no reason to listen to him in the first place. But there was simply no logical explanation for the Sannin's obsession with possessing an Uchiha's body. Kabuto had spent many hours of his free time thinking it over, but no matter what angle he tried to view it from, he couldn't understand. The Sharingan was one thing, but they weren't exactly bound to the body. The bodies of the Uchiha clan were, for a lack of better phrasing, painfully ordinary. The only interest was their eyes. But the Sannin was stubborn.

Kabuto tsk'd in annoyance and left the room. It was pointless putting so much effort into something so ridiculous. His irritation left him unfocussed as he paced through the seemingly endless maze of hallways. Eventually he found himself entering the Sannin's personal room, which at this point was still set up to be its own medical room. Although he knew that Orochimaru wouldn't dare show it, there was no ignoring the fact that the extended period of time spent in his last host had left its mark. He had tried too hard to wait for Sasuke to become available, and the outcome was less than acceptable. What was left of the snake summoner's soul had decayed further, and there was no telling how long the new host would last.

The key flaw to the body possession jutsu that Orochimaru had developed was its reliance on the possessor's willpower. While there weren't many who could match the Sannin in willpower to begin with, the strength of the soul was also a factor. In a way, one could almost classify the soul as the medium through which one's own will was utilised. Having less of a soul than those he tried to possess made Orochimaru's jutsu difficult to maintain, and there wasn't a doubt in the medics mind that keeping himself in control of his new body was leaving the Sannin weaker than usual.

It was ironic really. The jutsu developed to help him overcome death and become invulnerable, was also the very thing bringing him closer to death and making him more vulnerable than he had ever been.

"Is there something wrong, Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked calmly from his bed.

The medic frowned. "Sasuke isn't in his room," he said. "I had assumed he was with you, but seeing as he isn't…"

The Sannin smirked. "It's fine. He's probably exploring, looking for anything that may be of use to him once he thinks he's ready to try and kill me," he said in amusement.

"Is it wise to let him do that?"

"It will make no difference. Sasuke has potential, but he is nothing compared to his brother," he said. "His eyes will prove most useful in my plan, but his body will make obtaining Itachi all the more possible."

Kabuto mentally rolled his eyes. Going after Itachi was suicidal for anyone. The man had slaughtered his entire clan when he was just a boy, leaving only his little brother in what could be explained as a personal joke. Itachi was on a level that not even the Sannin could hope to have reached at such a young age. Hell, one could even say that the Uchiha was the perfect amalgamation of the three. The raw power of Jiraiya, the finesse of Tsunade, and the methodical brutality of Orochimaru.

A true heir of Madara's will.

"How is she?" Orochimaru asked suddenly, a displeased frown crossing his face.

Kabuto matched the Sannin's expression. "Alive… for now," he answered. "Her reaction to the boy's death was far more… drastic than we could have expected. She feels as though her failure is worthy of death."

Orochimaru snarled. "She is weaker than I gave her credit for. Her loyalty is appraisable, but her feelings get in the way. What good is a she if she tries to kill herself for every failure." he spat. "The plan would have gone perfectly if not for the boy's pathetic will to live."

"True, his death was unexpected," the medic said. "The original plan will have to be adjusted. If we still hope to obtain the Yonbi, then it will have to be via other means."

The Sannin waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry. The Yonbi was merely an intriguing potential addition to my plans. We have yet to even know for certain if the Mizukage is dead. Chasing a Bijuu that may not even be obtainable at all is pointless. Especially when we already have one so close."

Kabuto narrowed his eyes. "You're speaking about Naruto, aren't you?"

"The boy is the perfect weapon," he said. "That fool of a fourth Hokage didn't even know what he was doing when he accidentally created possibly the most powerful tool of destruction in the entirety of the elemental nations. And seeing as he stole what was rightfully mine all those years ago, I feel it's only fair that I take something as compensation."

If he wasn't sure of it before, Kabuto definitely was now. Orochimaru was insane. It was one thing to strive for immortality, longing to be the most powerful shinobi of all, but it was starting to reach a point of stupid that the medic couldn't accept. Wanting to possess the body of Itachi Uchiha, to control Naruto Uzumaki as a personal weapon, it was simply madness.

Orochimaru hummed thoughtfully to himself. "Regrettably, it seems as though dear Naruto's actions have earned him some unfortunate attention," he said with a smile. "Killing Tsunade in such a bold manner was truly something to be remembered. I had never hoped that his abilities were quite so advanced as to infiltrate Konoha so easily. The strain of suppressing so much chakra would have been immense, let alone being able to perform a jutsu within the Hokage tower that no one noticed until it was too late." By this point, the Sannin was almost salivating at the idea of just how powerful the jinchuuriki may have been.

"He will be hunted, by every nation, every village. There will be so few not willing to cash in on his new bounty. The strongest alive will search for him, to destroy him, to test him… it's perfect," Orochimaru said gleefully. "The years to come will allow him to strengthen himself beyond anyone's imagining. But we can't allow for anyone to put an end to such a promising weapon so soon. As strong as he may be, there are still those out there who would intervene and ruin my plan."

"What do you propose we do?" Kabuto asked.

"We will need eyes on him," the snake answered. "Tayuya would be an obvious choice, but past events may prove using her a difficult task. Our best hope is to send someone who can aid him while also discreetly sending information back to us."

"You think he will fall for that?"

"Of course not. He will be sure to keep them from learning anything valuable, but so long as he is kept alive, and his progression is assured to me, then I will be pleased," he explained. "As such, it would be wise to send someone capable of holding their own while providing medical knowledge," he added, a twisted smile making its way onto his face.

Kabuto frowned. "Who'd you have in mind?"

"Wake Guren. Tell her that I'm willing to give her a chance to redeem herself," the Sannin said pleasantly. "And while you're at it, see to it that someone checks in on Juugo. With Kimimaro gone, we will need another to take the position of keeping the poor boy in check."

"You intend to send them to aid Naruto," Kabuto stated unsurely. "I can understand the reasoning behind needing eyes on him, but why those two?"

Orochimaru grinned. "Guren's loyalty will ensure she does whatever may be necessary to accomplish the task I give her. Juugo is useless without someone to keep him in control at all times, and should things go south, he may be the only one physically capable of surviving a head on encounter with Naruto and return with information."

"And if he doesn't?"

"No harm done. I have already made enough headway in artificially producing the enzymes his body creates. His practical uses to me have nearly run their course."

Kabuto remained silent as he stared emotionlessly at the Sannin. It wasn't his place to argue. Orochimaru was free to make his own mistakes. Handing an easily persuaded Juugo and a now emotionally unstable Guren over to Naruto was a recipe for disaster. While he was sure it wouldn't turn into outright betrayal, it wouldn't stray too far from it. That being said, Kabuto wasn't prepared or willing to intervene. What Guren and Juugo did was their business, and so long as it didn't interfere directly with his own plans, then he didn't care.

"Very well then," the medic said calmly. "I shall send for both of them to be collected and informed of their new mission."

"Good. And while you're at it, have someone search for Sasuke. It's nearly time for his training."

The medic bowed politely and left the room. As he once again traversed the maze of hallways, he began to formulate the next step of his plans in the back of his mind. Danzō had used him, as had Sasori, and both had discarded him once his usefulness had run its course. Orochimaru may have promised to be different, but past experiences had prepared him for the worst, and he was a learner above all. Even if the Sannin were to live up to his word, Kabuto knew that his current position was as far as his alliance with Orochimaru would take him. The snake wouldn't allow for those beneath him to gain too much power or knowledge. As such, he needed a new alliance, or perhaps even just a new goal to aim for.

He would take a page from those who had crossed him in the past, to ensure that he was never crossed again, even if it meant stooping down to their level.

All he needed was a little help… and he knew exactly where to get it.

* * *

Temari wasn't the kind to get embarrassed. She was trained from a young age to be adequately capable of blocking out such feelings for the sake of avoiding any complications should she ever be able to serve a political use for her father or the village. That being said, no amount of training could have properly prepared her for the likes of one Naruto Uzumaki, and that was saying something. Her training had covered as many aspects as one could think necessary, with lessons being added as she grew older and more could potentially be asked of her. Naturally, upon beginning puberty, she was taught to not be ashamed nor embarrassed about her body. As the only female child of a Kage, it was entirely probable for her to be a part of a political marriage. The last thing any snobbish royal male wanted was a shy and embarrassed girl to keep their bed warm.

Said training was a key reason for the blondes overflowing confidence and ability to easily go along with whatever was thrown her way. It was also why, when the time finally arrived, Temari had little hesitation about getting completely undressed at the behest of Naruto. While she may have felt a little nervous about it earlier in the day, such feelings were very quickly forgotten once she considered the bigger picture of things. However, her training had implied that both parties would be nude should she ever be forced to reveal herself so openly to a man, so the situation at hand was still a little odd.

Being in a hospital would have helped a little, but Naruto had insisted on the bathhouse.

Back to the point at hand however; while Temari knew she shouldn't feel embarrassed and while a single glance was more than enough to see that Naruto was quite literally without a single perverted thought in his mind, the blonde couldn't help but feel slightly shy.

So far, Naruto was only approximately half done with the process of painting the sealing array on her body. It was a long and delicate task as he coiled each chain of seals around every curve of her body, compacting it all across every inch of skin he could get to, which was admittedly all of it. Temari was only mildly effected by the tickling of each gentle brush stroke over the more sensitive parts of herself, and was more than grateful for each change of position over the course of the ordeal, although some of the positions required only added to her shyness for the moment.

"You're handling this a lot better than I expected," Naruto mused aloud.

Temari gave a stern look to the jinchuuriki from the corner of her eye. "It's not as if I have much of a choice," she said. "Acting like a child right now would do neither of us any good."

Naruto hummed in agreement before smirking slightly. "Well, there was a choice, I just didn't give it to you," he said, earning the blondes full attention.

"What…?"

"I never said this would be the only way for this to be done, merely the best way," he explained. "In theory, I could have easily done this with you only needing to be topless. It would have taken a little less time, and obviously provided you with far less stress, but it also wouldn't be the best-suited method. The seal wouldn't be as strong as I intend for it to be, nor would the sealing process be as safe as I hope for it to be."

"So, you're only doing it this way because it's safer and more likely to work?" Temari asked, feeling slightly relieved that he was focussing on her safety and the success of the sealing.

"Mostly," he answered. "Bijuu sealing isn't a perfected art by any stretch of the word. No matter what anyone tells you, there is always more risk involved than there will ever be benefits or gain. That being said, it follows the same basic principal of all sealing. So long as you approach the subject with logic and caution, then it should work perfectly fine. The appropriate amount of chakra and finesse is also extremely important when it comes to the one performing the sealing, but good preparations can even balance those aspects out to a reasonable extent."

"When it comes down to the Ichibi, from my understandings, its physical form is sand, meaning that its chakra possesses an extreme affinity to earth. As such, one could reason that the Bijuu would have a difficult time channelling any of its chakra into liquids, especially water. At least in any way that resembles control or a real threat. Such a process would be made even more challenging should the water already be flooded with chakra to act as a barrier against its attempts at gaining control."

Temari actually had to give him credit on that one. While it may have only been speculation at this point, it was definitely reasonable to think such a thing would work, even if only for a short time. But that still didn't exactly explain why she had to be completely naked for it, nor why he had to be so meticulous in his sealing. Honestly, she didn't even know how he was keeping a straight face while doing it. Greater men would be drooling by now had they been in his position, although perhaps not, considering her age. But that didn't explain it for him. She was easily close enough to his age for him to find her sexually attractive, so his lack of perversion was still a mystery.

"Once we begin, you'll submerge you're body in the middle of the bath, along with your brothers. Physical contact with him would be best, but not necessary. From there, it's up to me," he said casually. "The Ichibi isn't as powerful as the other Bijuu, so the process won't take too long, but it is still a Bijuu. You will likely feel pain and discomfort in levels you haven't felt before. There is a high chance that you may even pass out from it, but that's not really a problem. Even if you don't pass out, you will need to rest almost immediately, allow your body to adapt to the changes in its own time."

"Hmmm, so you're compacting the sealing array to my body because you can't write on water, right?" she asked, concluding that that was the only real logical reason.

"No. I could have easily drained the bath and drawn it on the bottom before refilling it," he replied. "Like I said before, this method is safer. The Ichibi's chakra will be drawn to this seal, and if it's all on your body, then there is less chance for the Bijuu to latch onto anything else during the sealing. It also allows the chakra to be evenly dispersed throughout your entire body instead of just pumped in through a single point. That's usually the part that most people mess up, which is why people die in these sort of processes."

"Oh, okay. That's good. Alive is definitely good," Temari said, nodding her head in complete agreement.

Naruto smirked again. "Of course, it also helps that I get to see you naked," he said, much to the blondes shock and surprise. "The bragging rights of seeing one of the few female Kage in all their nude glory, up close and personal, are mine!" he proclaimed in mock excitement.

Temari glared down at his smug smirking face. Had this been any other situation at all, she would have hit him, with all the strength she could muster. But sadly, this was important, and he was nearing the end of the sealing array. That in itself was frustrating enough as Naruto had inquired as to where she would like the seal to be placed, and she, without thinking about it properly, had chosen her left hip. As luck would have it, the area where the seal was going to end up also happened to require the most amount of attention be devoted to it, which in turn meant that Naruto was forced to spend an extended period of time in close proximity to….well…everything.

"That wasn't very convincing," she said irritably, knowing full well how forced that statement was from the jinchuuriki.

Naruto grinned sheepishly at her. "Yeah, sorry about that. Thought I'd try to break the tension a little."

Temari quirked an eyebrow at him. "And you thought coming off as a pervert was the best option for that?" she asked incredulously.

"It was the easiest one, if that makes it any better."

"It really doesn't."

"Oh well, I'm nearly done anyway."

While Naruto was obviously more than happy to let the topic die, Temari was not quite so inclined.

"Do you not find girls attractive?" she asked, her calmness doing nothing to hide her curiosity.

Naruto paused in his work. "What gives you that idea?" he asked with equal curiosity. Obviously, something about his actions or behaviour had given off the entirely wrong message, and as such, needed to be corrected immediately.

"We have not long come from sharing a night out together that included both a private meal and a trip to the secure section of Suna's library. Now, we are secluded in a bathhouse, I'm standing in front of you completely naked, literally at your mercy, and you have yet to so much as glance at my body in any way that would imply interest," Temari explained in an almost disappointed tone.

Naruto deadpanned at her. "You sure can make a date night sound like a mission report can't you," he said. "Oh, and before I forget, thanks for the meal, and the scroll. Mostly the meal though. Very tasty. You provided great company for it too. A good night all in all I think."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Look, I'm not a pervert. I'm not going to say I don't admire the female form, nor say that I'm innocent of having impure thoughts, but I have respect," he stated. "You have more things to worry about than me being a creep and making this any more uncomfortable for you than it already is. So yes, I do find girls attractive, but I can prioritise. And besides, I have a healthy respect for keeping my head attached to my shoulders. You're a Kage. Being a pervert to you would get me killed in a heartbeat once I've finished doing what you want me to."

Temari eased up on her glare and nodded in understanding. It wasn't exactly a rare mentality, but it was refreshing to have it so openly admitted. "At least you understand the consequences," she said softly, a smug smirk of her own pulling at her lips.

"So, what are your plans once this is all over?" Naruto asked curiously. "Are you going to keep it secret, or have you planned some large scale confession to your village?"

"I haven't decided yet," she answered unsurely. "I don't feel exactly comfortable lying to my village, especially when they are putting so much trust in me, but at the same time, I know how they will react. While I know I wouldn't suffer the way Gaara did, it would make it difficult, if not impossible, to make any progress towards a better life for future jinchuuriki."

Naruto frowned. "As hard as it might be, perhaps ignorance is bliss for the moment," he said. "Until me, the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi has always been a guarded secret. A burden passed from the Shodai Hokage's wife, down to my mother, and now to me. The only reason it's so publicly known now is because some of those privileged enough to know the truth about me chose to divulge the information to the world upon my leaving the village. After all, letting a jinchuuriki just walk free among the elemental nations isn't a widely accepted thing these days."

"So I shouldn't tell them?"

"Not exactly. Just, be cautious at first. Tell only those you can trust, those that are loyal. Keep it close to your chest for the moment, until you've gained control, until you're ready to deal with the hardships that will find you once such information is made public," he said. "The worst thing right now would be for anyone to take advantage of you. While jinchuuriki are definitely powerful, it takes time for that power to become practical, hence why young children are usually used. Your body will be weak for some time after this, and your chakra unstable. You will need to rely on those closest to you until you've had the time to adjust."

Temari hummed. "Any idea on how long that might take?"

Naruto shrugged. "Days, weeks, months. It's up to you in the end. So long as you don't overdo it and be responsible it shouldn't take too long, and I will obviously be making the seal to aid the process, but it's still a gamble at this point," he said. "The main point is that once you have adjusted, assuming that my sealing theory works how I'd like it to, you'll have more control over the Ichibi than any of its previous vessels. We can hope that that also means that you'll potentially be a lot more powerful as well, which will make Akatsuki's plan to capture you all the more challenging. So long as you stay in the middle of a desert that is."

"And what about Danzō?" Temari asked seriously. "You altered the seal on my brother and sensei, but from what I understand, he likely has many more agents throughout the village. Akatsuki will be much harder to deal with should they ever align with that man. This village isn't well equipped to handle being attacked from within. No village is."

Naruto's face went emotionless. "Danzō is… a problem for someone else to deal with," he said sternly. "I doubt Akatsuki would ever align with him unless they were truly desperate, but even then it's unlikely. Besides, he is about to have plenty of other things to worry about than what goes on in Suna. He'll be far too busy to put any real effort into complicating things here for a while, and by the time he sorts any of that out, I get the feeling that someone will take it upon themselves to deal with him properly."

"And if no one does?"

Naruto smiled as he stood up and looked down at her. "Don't you have more important things to worry about? Like the fact that I'm finished now?"

Temari's eyes widened slightly. He was only just over half way done last time she checked. Looking down at herself, she wasn't surprised to find almost all of her lightly tanned skin was covered in black ink, dozens of sealing chains stretching across her entire body, coiling around every curve. The majority of the sealing array was very obviously around her left thigh and pelvic area, which unfortunately meant that Naruto had spent the most amount of time working on that area. All in all though, the finished product wasn't exactly an eye sore. In fact, it looked rather good. Had it been a tattoo instead of a seal, Temari could honestly say she wouldn't have minded too much.

That being said though, it wasn't a tattoo, but just like a tattoo, there was definitely going to be pain. And now was the time to feel it.

Naruto didn't need to say anything else. Temari had already grilled him on what she was expected to do during the sealing while he was busy painting the seal on her, so she didn't need to be instructed. She walked over to the large pool of water, which thankfully wasn't too cold, and gently lowered herself into the water, not at all surprised that the ink wasn't washing off. Naruto had mumbled something about chakra infused ink needing to be used to keep it on her skin in the water, but the blonde wasn't exactly interested in those kinds of details. Walking through the water to the other side, she came upon her brother, lying motionless on the edge of the bath. His body had already been prepared for the sealing, and thankfully, unlike her, the preparations didn't require he be nude. Having already gone through so much, the last Temari wanted was for Gaara to pass in such an undignified way.

With a gentleness that she only reserved for him, Temari carefully rested his head back on her shoulder, hugging his back close to her chest as she slowly brought him into the water with her. Walking him to the middle of the bath, she lowered herself down so that the water came up to both her and Gaara's shoulders. One thing she had definitely paid attention to was Naruto stating the importance of them being mostly submerged. At first she didn't quite understand, but after his earlier explanation she wasn't about to question it.

Naruto walked up behind Temari and gently placed his hand on the middle of her back. "You ready?" he asked softly.

Temari took a deep breath and hugged Gaara a little tighter. "As ready as I'll ever be," she said with only a hint of nervousness.

It didn't take long before she felt Naruto's chakra easing its way into her body, working its way through her to get to Gaara and activate both his and her seals. Taking one more deep calming breath, she rested her head against her brothers, knowing full well that this was the last time she was ever going to have with him while he was alive, even if only technically.

 _'Gaara… I'm so sorry,'_ she said to herself. _'I'll make them see… just how wrong they were.'_

And in an instant, her whole world became nothing but agony.

* * *

Sasori grumbled irritably as he sealed away yet another corpse. Gathering bodies for his collection was all good and well, but it was boring unless they didn't offer something new, something unique and interesting. Despite being supposedly comparable to proper ANBU, the agents of ROOT were, for a lack of better description, plain. Only the best were worth anything, and even then, it was usually due to some run of the mill Kekkei Genkai that meant very little to the puppet master. The bulk of the secret organisations forces were simply cannon fodder. Brainwashed, half-trained, and best utilised as glorified messengers.

The seal that they all had on their tongues only went to prove his point. It would kill them should they try to spill any information, or if anyone tried to pry information from them directly without the key. An irritating roadblock for any spy trying to do his job, but also a respectable safety measure. He had already invested some thought into putting a similar system in place with his own spy network. Of course, such an activity would have to wait until his superior released him from his current duty, which was, admittedly, rather boring.

After striking a rather peculiar deal with the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, he and Konan had assisted in the capture of a handful of Suna shinobi. The boy went on to deconstruct the seal on their tongues, making it look like child's play. As per the agreement, he also explained the process to the two of them, so as to give Akatsuki free reign in combatting ROOT should the need ever arise. Konan was a little more determined than he would have expected her to be, and her apparent enthusiasm in breaking the minds of what agents she had collected was concerning to say the least. But at least it granted them access to useful information.

One such piece of information lead them to their current position. A base, hidden on the outskirts of the land of rain, barely within its borders. It wasn't superbly hidden, nor overly well defended, which Sasori supposed only helped to make it look like less of a threat to anyone who looked at it. But it was an information hub. The agents inside were all from Amegakure. None were of a high-ranking position within the village, but some were more than capable of gaining access to a decent amount of information on the village. The fact that Danzō had so many shinobi under his control in Ame was a worry, but it was also suspicious.

The puppet master skewered his bladed tail through the chest of the last brainwashed agent, making sure that they were definitely dead, before sealing the corpse away for safekeeping. Slowly making his way over to his superior, he could easily see that she was just as suspicious as he was.

"What are your thoughts on this?" he asked, his gravelly voice offering no real hint of true curiosity.

Konan stared apathetically at the blood stained walls and floor of the base. Having been responsible for most of the deaths that had just occurred, she couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that it was dealt with, but the fact that such a base even existed offered a whole new problem.

"This shouldn't have happened," she said. "Pein's rain stretches across most of the country. Amegakure is under constant surveillance. There is no way that such spy's were able to infiltrate the village without his knowing, without his permission." Her amber eyes narrowed ever so slightly, one of the few signs of emotion Sasori had ever seen her display. "He must have known. He must have kept it from us, from me. He had to of been allowing them to be here."

Sasori feared very little when it came down to it. He no longer felt pain, and was mostly immune to anything that would kill or harm normal humans. But even he understood not to piss off anyone more powerful than himself without a perfect plan in place. Konan was one such person that was on the list of people capable of completely destroying him. Out of all the members of Akatsuki, both Pein and Konan were considered to be easily the most dangerous, and for good reason. As far as anyone knew, neither had anything to lose, at all. The idea of them being actively aggressive towards anyone meant death and destruction… but the idea of them being angry at each other.

The puppet master would be sure to observe the devastation from a safe distance.

"What do we do now?" he asked. "We already raided the minds of several of the shinobi here. We know that this is the only base within this country's borders."

The blue haired woman turned and walked towards the exit. "I'm going to talk to Pein," she said. "You can do as you like."

Sasori grumbled a half-hearted thanks under his breath and glanced down at the scroll in his hand. He had a lot of puppet making ahead of him to keep himself preoccupied. Who knew, perhaps Pein would let him take possession of Konan's body once the whole ordeal was over.

It was unlikely, but hey, a puppet could dream couldn't he.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Well, I updated again, much to everyone's surprise I imagine. Been a very long wait for this chapter, and for that I am sorry. I'm not going to bother with giving any definitive excuse for this late update because, lets be honest here, nothing bar a broken laptop would excuse me from this long of a writing gap. But that aside, I'm not dead, and I am still writing here and there. This story is still getting the occasional new follower so I can only hope that I haven't ruined this story's popularity by being so lazy with it. As such, I would like to thank anyone who started reading this at the very beginning and is still somehow here. Your patience must be phenomenal. Also a thanks to the new readers, who are still allowing this story to stay relevant.

Now, in regards to the chapter, shit is in the works people. Temari is now a jinchuuriki, Kabuto is not kissing ass quite so much, Orochimaru is an idiot genius, and Konan is being a human again. Seriously though, I wish Konan was a more fleshed out character. Love her design, but the lack of a real personality save for being protective of Nagato was disappointing.

Not sure how this chapter holds up compared to the others so far. I hope its of acceptable quality for you guys, especially considering the long wait. Not sure how long the next chapter will take me so I once again make no promises on it being quick.

It's also dawned on me that I haven't properly included the Kyuubi into this story yet. Will probably get around to that soon.

In other news, as of a week ago, I am now in my twenties. Not yet sure how I feel about it, but kinda hoping its better than being a teenager. Time will tell I guess.

Don't forget to leave a review guys, every single one is appreciated.

Till next time.

Soul out!


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